Posted on 08/01/2008 2:03:28 AM PDT by Man50D
The newspaper industry apparently has a death wish. After enduring a number of scandals of large papers fraudulently inflating circulation figures, it is now giving advertisers more reasons to be suspicious that circulation guarantees mean little or nothing.
The Board of the Audit Circulation Bureau (ABC) has approved a number of changes to their rules for counting hard copy newspaper and magazine circulation. The Board agreed to change the rules making their circulation reporting more uniform, and relaxed rules on counting unpaid distribution in the circulation guarantees they make to advertisers:
They have eliminated the payment requirement for employee and agent copies.
The board also voted to eliminate the payment requirement for school distribution. Effective October 10, 2010, copies generated from school programs will be reported as "verified" distribution."
The board also broadened the definition of "verified distribution" allowing subscription copies delivered to public places or individual readers to be counted.
The rules for counting home delivery promotion programs have been liberalized to permit counting targeted unrequested copies to homes.
Finally, the board authorized the inclusion of "other verified distribution" for copies delivered free to public places like hospitals and nursing homes, restaurants, doctors or dentist offices and personal care salons.
The ABC calls itself the "gold standard" in media audits. But by including a plethora of free distribution categories in circulation that may invite abuse, they threaten to erode advertisers' confidence in print media.
Rather than propping up flagging newspaper and magazine circulation this change may accelerate the already tidal move away from print media. At moment when advertisers already are fleeing newspapers, this move gives them more reason to do so.
Liberals are always about lowering standards, aren’t they ?
Also to all! It's going to be hot on Mark Levin's show tonight my friends. He's interviewing a Swiftboat author tonight [Friday]:
Catch all the latest on Jeremy Corsi's Obama Nation
As someone who wrote the program for handling the subscription fulfillment process for a large newspaper 35 years ago I have a little understanding of this counting. At that time we had as a starting point the press run. We then counted the number sent to street vendors, the number sent to paper boys (actually the distributors to the paper boys), the number mailed, and the number used in house for proof, copies, archive, etc. Those left over were surplus. At the same time we removed from the count those papers returned by any of the above for the previous day’s press run.
Now I see that there will be no need to remove the previous day’s surplus from the paper boys. All they have to do is throw that surplus into other yards and they will then be counted as valid sales. Gee I think I can guarantee a subscription of 500,000 papers a day. Even if only 45,000 are paid.
The cost of actually printing the other 450,000 is minimal, simply the cost of the paper, ink, and some electricity. Newspapers make their money on the advertising and not the price of the newspapers. The street vendors and paper boys do make their money based upon the price of the newspaper.
I suspect we will see a large growth in the circulation figures for newspapers rather soon and a lot of free newspapers being left in the neighborhoods.
I’ll be happy when Pinch Sulzberger’s idea of a great meal is being the first one to the dumpster behind a Ruth’s Chris Steak House after the Friday evening rush.
If the numbers don’t come out right, just change the numbers. Just like they do in elections and affirmative action hiring.
I have to laugh. Here, about two years ago, the Atlanta Urinal started selling double copies of the Sunday paper wrapped together. Twice the coupons! the wrapper exclaimed.
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