A new relationship with the gray lady
Perhaps it’s some sort of ingrained appreciation stemming from the cub scout field trip I took there thirty years back (a trip which I credit with fueling my interest in print and publishing in general), but I have always had a soft spot for The New York Times. When I first came online years ago their site was one of the first sites I remember seeking out and reading and I have always associated a lazy Sunday with the big ass Sunday Times. So it only makes sense that I try out my new “newspaper consumption philosophy” with them.
This new philosophy revolves around that Sunday edition… I subscribe to that (the sunday paper ONLY) because it is stuffed with good writing (and a full fledged magazine or two) and Sunday is the one day during the week I really don’t want to look at a computer screen. The icing on this cake is that my Sunday only subscription unlocks the entirety of the Times’ web site giving me full time access to everything in the NYT universe (what prints plus other media like audio and video) for the price of the Sunday paper… a paper I would probably buy at the newsstand anyway.
Now I know that this is a bargain for me and I have found myself spending a lot more time on the Times site… especially inside the pay-wall at Times Select. What I don’t know is whether or not this is a value for the Times. If I had to guess I’d say that it has to be… they’re getting me all week for the cost of a Sunday print run. My subscription to that one paper a week is potentially as valuable as a full subscription to all seven editions (perhaps more so). Without the cost of having to print an actual paper they have me documented… they can see me visit their site… they know what articles I read… they know what ads I click on and which ones I don’t… they can develop a much fuller picture of me and build an advertising space that is tailored to my tastes… something advertisers love to hear. In short they can offer a depth of experience online that they could never even dream of in print.
So this leads me to the question: is this a harbinger of things to come for newspapers? My lifestyle pattern of being in front of a computer all week and getting away from it on the weekend is awful common. If this setup is working for me, why not for the countless other would-be subcribers to the Times? Could this be a trend in readership that resonates to such a degree that it eliminates the daily paper in favor of a digital week print weekend tandem?