National Post retreats from provinces

[jdobbin]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingn...p-4886324c.html

The National Post, however, has not only eliminated home delivery in Manitoba and Saskatchewan immediately but its print version won't be available anywhere in the two provinces during the week.

David Asper, chairman of the Toronto-based Post, said it has decided to opt out of its contract with the Free Press to print about 5,000 copies of the paper six days a week.

The Post will be sold at various retailers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan on Saturdays, however. Current home delivery customers will be offered a "very attractive rate" to subscribe to the online edition, he said.

This is similar to a move made in the Atlantic provinces a while ago.

[White Doors]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingn...p-4886324c.html

This is similar to a move made in the Atlantic provinces a while ago.

I was wondering what happened to the Post here. That sucks.

Best paper in the country by a long shot.

[M.Dancer]

I was wondering what happened to the Post here. That sucks.

Best paper in the country by a long shot.

eeh...no not be a long shot. The Post has been on a death watch for awhile. It had two big problems. One was circulation. When it was founded it rode on the backs of it Southam Sisters and was given free to home subscribers in Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver etc...everywhere where the was a Southam daily. For the purposes of Circulation audits, the subscription fee that was paid for, say the Gazette, was split so that on paper the Post had paid subs. Never the less media buyers discounted the Posts numbers at first and haven't really changed much even as the circulation department struggled to convert the free subs into paid.

Secondly subscribers on the southam papers quickly found out, while there was exclusive content in the Post, much of what was in the Post was Southam (later Canwest) wire stories which they were reading in their city paper...thus limiting the need to have the Post.

And finally, without having a Southam paper in Toronto, the nations largest market and media capital, media buyers if they wanted the posts audience still had to buy toronto. So if it was a consumer buy, they bought the Southam (or Canwest) network AND bought the Star...and money left over would go to the Post, if the post was willing to drop their pants and bend over,....if it was a financial or business category and the wanted the Post they still had to buy the Globe and Mail...which usually meant buying the G&M first and then seeing if the Post would do the Drop and Squat again.

It has never made money...probably never will. It does though have one honour. It forced the Globe to shake off its complacence and fight to maintain its status of the newspaper of record and the one must read for the C-suite and the power brokers.

Even more astounding is the demise of ....

FRANK

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/526422

[jdobbin]

I was wondering what happened to the Post here. That sucks.

Best paper in the country by a long shot.

They have cut back so much. The Aspers have quietly been looking for buyers for some time.

Last time I heard, Jerry Graftstein was kicking the tires. Might not be a great time to buy a newspaper.

[White Doors]

They have cut back so much. The Aspers have quietly been looking for buyers for some time.

Last time I heard, Jerry Graftstein was kicking the tires. Might not be a great time to buy a newspaper.

No, probably not - but I just thought they had so many good writers, etc that it's a shame.

oh well, that's what happens.

Thanks for the Business reason's mdancer, I was just saying it was the best paper in Canada (in my opinion), not the best run one.

edit to add: I think alot of the good writers have fled already to MacLeans.

Edited October 31, 2008 by White Doors

[guyser]

FRANK

I used to buy Frank a long time ago. I enjoyed it for what it was. Too bad I guess....but then again , I stopped buying.

I like the Sat Post for the homes, enetertainment sections. Was worth it to me.

[sharkman]

No, probably not - but I just thought they had so many good writers, etc that it's a shame.

oh well, that's what happens.

Thanks for the Business reason's mdancer, I was just saying it was the best paper in Canada (in my opinion), not the best run one.

edit to add: I think alot of the good writers have fled already to MacLeans.

When Conrad Black owned the Post, he assembled quite a stable of writers and word smiths, like Mark Steyn, George Jonas, Andrew Coyne, Christie Blatchford, among others. I looked forward to the paper every day and was seldom disappointed. But after Black sold it, many great thinkers left, and the paper became almost an empty shell. I cancelled delivery when they started printing Chrisopher Hitchens hate speech.

[penorsword]

I'm more ticked about the demise of Frank. I thought that i just couldn't find it. Would have been great if someone took it over, at least online.

I used to like the Post, then i met Black and Drabinski, never read it again after that.

[bill_barilko]

Glad to see the back of that rag, they used to deliver it free where I worked and still no one read it.

I guess 24 Hours and Metro really do rule now don't they?

[fellowtraveller]

I get home delivery of The National Post six days a week for $52. That's $52 per year.

They cannot possibly make money at that rate.

[M.Dancer]

I get home delivery of The National Post six days a week for $52. That's $52 per year.

They cannot possibly make money at that rate.

Newspapers don't make money from paid subscriptions, period. It only subsidizes the cost. ABC measures circulation and in that measure it is noted that X% are sold under cost...advertiser note that too and consider those readers less reliable that those who pay full price.

[fellowtraveller]

Newspapers don't make money from paid subscriptions, period. It only subsidizes the cost. ABC measures circulation and in that measure it is noted that X% are sold under cost...advertiser note that too and consider those readers less reliable that those who pay full price.

Ok, my feelings are very hurt that an advertiser would consider me unreliable.

Now I feel guilty for getting such a great deal.

I did have to bully them into that rate for a secodn year.

[M.Dancer]

Ok, my feelings are very hurt that an advertiser would consider me unreliable.

Now I feel guilty for getting such a great deal.

I did have to bully them into that rate for a secodn year.

It's just the assumption that someone who doesn't pay full price isn't as an advid reader as a full price buyer...while that may not be true individually, take 20,000 discouted subs and I would say it is.

[fellowtraveller]

It's just the assumption that someone who doesn't pay full price isn't as an advid reader as a full price buyer...while that may not be true individually, take 20,000 discouted subs and I would say it is.

Intersting assumption.

I was an occasional reader, and actually succumbed to a phone plea targetting Canwest subscribers, I also subcribe for years to the local CanWest rag. When they said $52, I said yes. After the first year, they wanted a hundred and something. I told them I'd pay another $52 tops, and they said yes.

I think it is nearly up for renewal, I'llk take it again for that price.

I like the Posts diversity of opinion, they have some strong voices from all sides of some issues.

[Oleg Bach]

Intersting assumption.

I was an occasional reader, and actually succumbed to a phone plea targetting Canwest subscribers, I also subcribe for years to the local CanWest rag. When they said $52, I said yes. After the first year, they wanted a hundred and something. I told them I'd pay another $52 tops, and they said yes.

I think it is nearly up for renewal, I'llk take it again for that price.

I like the Posts diversity of opinion, they have some strong voices from all sides of some issues.

52 bucks? You should have said 40 and they would have gone for it. Maybe you should have said that you would send them a yearly report as a quality control guy and go the rag for NUTIN>

[fellowtraveller]

52 bucks? You should have said 40 and they would have gone for it. Maybe you should have said that you would send them a yearly report as a quality control guy and go the rag for NUTIN>

We did go from one hundred and something ($120 maybe) to $85 to a soemwhat sheepish $52.

I promised to send Conrad Black a cupcake but they don';t seem to have any cupcake verification officers so it looks like the $52 is all they will need.