Jan 12, 2009 7:03 pm US/Eastern
Miami Herald Raises Prices, Blames Higher Costs
First Price Increase In Miami-Dade In 18 Years
New Price 50 Cents Weekdays, $1.25 Sundays
Price Increase Almost 43%
MIAMI (CBS4.com) ―
It you like a little news with your morning coffee, prepare to part with a little more money. The Miami Herald Media Company quietly raised prices for the Herald Monday by 43 percent in some areas, blaming increased costs and decreasing ad revenue.
The Herald had been selling for 35 cents a copy in Miami-Dade county and 25 cents a copy in Broward County, but with Monday's editions the price was increased to 50 cents a copy in both counties. That's an increase of almost 43 percent in Miami-Dade and Broward; prices in Monroe County had already been raised to 50 cents a copy last year.
The Sunday Herald will increase in price from $1 to $1.25, a 25% increase.
Herald spokesperson Dory Robau blamed the increase, the newspaper's first price hike in Miami-Dade county in 18 years, on increased costs. It comes when at a difficult time, when like most newspapers The Herald is struggling to keep subscribers from defecting to other news outlets like the internet. In March of 2008, the Audit Bureau of Circulation reported The Herald had seen an 11% drop in circulation, down to 240 thousand daily copies. Recent news reports have placed estimated circulation even lower.
The poor economy has also hurt newspaper income due to decreased advertising, and new online technology has decimated the classified ad sections that generated a large part of newspaper revenues.
The price increase came after The Herald's owner, McClatchy Newspapers, first tried to cut costs with two rounds of layoffs and buyouts. The increase came amid reports that the newspaper chain has approached potential buyers for the newspaper, acquired in 2006 when McClatchy spent $4.5 billion to purchase the Knight Ridder newspaper chain.
While The Herald has reported on the problems faced by other businesses in a tough economy, readers of the newspaper did not read about the paper's price increase in The Herald. There was no explanatory story in Monday's newspaper, although the Herald's spokesperson said subscribers were notified in their bill or by mail, and notice of the price increase was posted at Herald distribution centers.
One retailer told CBS4.com he was told of the price increase late last week.
The Miami Herald is a CBS4 news partner.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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