UPDATED: More Signs That Detroit Papers (as Rumored) Likely to Cut Back Home Delivery -- 'Anxiety' Grows

By: E&P Staff and The Associated Press E&P reported earlier this week that one or both of the Detroit dailies might well announce next Tuesday a halt to home delivery on one or more days of the week. This afternoon, Russell Adams at the Wall Street Journal online wrote that the publisher of the Detroit Free Press, "is expected to announce next week that it will cease home delivery of the print edition of the newspaper on most days of the week, according to a person familiar with the company's thinking (see AP update below).

"The publisher hasn't made a final decision, said this person, but the leading scenario set to be unveiled Tuesday would call for the Free Press and its partner paper, the Detroit News, to end home delivery on all but the most lucrative days?Thursday, Friday and Sunday. On the other days, the publisher would sell single copies of an abbreviated print edition at newsstands and direct readers to the papers' expanded digital editions."

The Free Press, owned by Gannett Co., and the News, owned by MediaNews Group, form the JOA known as the Detroit Media Partnership LP. They have been hard hit by the plunging Michigan economy, and now an auto bailout seems doubtful.

Adams notes: "As of Sept. 30, the Free Press had a weekday circulation of 298,243 papers, including 200,110 home and mail subscribers. The comparable numbers at the News were 178,280 and 97,483.

"The Free Press and News would be the first dailies in a major metropolitan market to curtail home delivery and drastically scale back the print edition.

"Even by industry standards, the Detroit newspapers have been hit particularly hard due to the effects of the troubled auto industry on Michigan's economy.... In October, Dave Hunke, publisher of the Free Press, said "It's time for us to look at some radical departures from our business model."

"To address the mounting problems, the Free Press in the past six months has been working with Ideo Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based design firm, to help reinvent the paper. The fruits of their work will be unveiled to employees on Tuesday in a company-wide meeting.

"The changes are likely to result in significant job cuts. Gannett, which owns 85 daily newspapers, recently said it was eliminating 2,000 positions as part of a 10% staff reduction....Industry analysts say by that getting readers out of the habit of receiving the newspaper daily, newspapers run the risk of losing readers' interest."

The full article is at:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB122911296051802459-lMyQjAxMDI4MjE5MjExMTIyWj.html

Now AP has updated, as follows.
*
Leland Bassett, a spokesman for the partnership, would neither confirm nor deny the Journal report but said a news conference was planned for Tuesday.

"We do expect to announce a new, more dynamic business model, and the focus is on maintaining and strengthening two very strong and independent newspaper voices," he said.

There already are signs of change. Both newspapers have Web sites promoting Sunday and Thursday home delivery and online access on other days at a cost of $15 for three months.

Bassett said the promotion has been up for weeks. Asked if it's the sole option for subscribers, he replied: "We will be announcing ... a wide range of dynamic options. Those are still being finalized."

The Detroit market would be the largest in the country to lose seven-day home delivery if the strategy is adopted, said Rick Edmonds, a media analyst at The Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla.

"I think doing nothing is really not an option," said Edmonds, noting the industrywide revenue slide. But there are risks, he said, especially if staffs are cut and loyal print readers find that a redesigned paper is just a "shell" of the old version.

"For some people, the newspaper is part of their routine," Edmonds said. "Those folks are not going to be happy if it doesn't come on Monday and Tuesday."

The Journal said home delivery would be limited to Thursday, Friday and Sunday, with an "abbreviated" print edition available at newsstands on other days. Readers would also be directed to the papers' Web sites.

The changes likely would mean major job cuts, the Journal said.

The Free Press, owned by Gannett Co., had a daily circulation of 314,554 at the end of March; 618,324 on Sunday. The News, owned by MediaNews Group Inc., had daily circulation of 178,280. It does not publish a print edition on Sunday.

Bassett said the papers recognize the "tremendous importance of digital communication and finding ways to better deliver news and information to people in ways that are most convenient to them."

Reporter M.L. Elrick, vice chairman of the Free Press unit of the Detroit Newspaper Guild, said there's anxiety in the newsroom.

"Everyone here is afraid we're going to have staff cuts," he said. "I wish I had my sources call me as often as my colleagues have called the past couple days. No one knows where this is going to end up."



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