The Hearst Corporation has announced that the last edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer will be published today (Tuesday) US time. Read how the newspaper is covering the closure of its print edition here. They are maintaining the online brand – the closure is of the print edition only. Seattle is another major US city to move to one-newspaper status.
Newsagents know about and share in the costs of newspaper distribution. They are a reason that Australian publishers are not currently under the same pressure as US newspaper publishers.
Here in Australia, if a publisher does a home delivery deal, the newsagent carries a portion of the cost, the discount. In the US, my understanding is that the publisher carries the cost of subscription deals.
The move by the people at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer will, I suspect, be seen in the future as being smart and ahead of the game. Ad revenue is falling. Circulation is falling. Print distribution costs are increasing. Where print will end is clear to those with open eyes.