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Spokane, WA - 06/01/09 - Today The Spokesman-Review begins publishing in a new, reader-friendly page size that has become the standard for the American newspaper industry. In adopting the new standard, Spokane joins a growing group of newspapers across the nation, including The Arizona Republic, Indianapolis Star, Louisville Courier-Journal, Eugene Register-Guard and Nashville Tennessean. The slimmer look has met with positive reader response in other markets. Not only is it easier to handle, but also “greener,” reducing newsprint consumption. The change in size also helps us control our costs and keep subscription and advertising rates competitive with other media. The paper remains 22 ¾ inches tall, but is now 1½ inches narrower in width.
Another major change in today’s paper: Classified ads are larger and easier to read. Our Classified columns are wider, and type and pictures are bigger. Readers and classified-ad buyers have been telling us for some time that they would like to see these changes and we are pleased to be able to offer them at this time.
We have made other changes dealing with advertising,
including an overhaul of our rates, the addition of color
options and the introduction of day-of-week and section
pricing. The most noticeable of these changes involves the way we arrange ads on our pages. Today’s Spokesman-Review is the first to feature modular advertising display.
We have reduced more
than a 1,000 advertising
configurations to about 48
standard configurations,
or modules. The space
gained because of modular
advertising configurations
enables us to regain some
space for news that is lost in
narrowing the page width.
Tighter editing, a reduction
in-paper promotional and
“filler” advertising and other
techniques maximize space
available for news.
Answers to Your FAQs About The Spokesman-Review
There is much talk these days about
the future of newspapers and newspaper
companies. Some newspaper companies
have dropped publication dates, reduced
the number of pages they publish, reduced
staff or hours. Others, including the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer, Denver Rocky Mountain
News and Ann Arbor, Michigan, News – have
stopped printing entirely, while the Detroit
Newspaper Agency delivers its papers to
homes only three days a week, publishing
only single-copy editions on the other
days. The stock prices of publicly traded
newspaper stocks are trading at all-time
lows and media pundits express sorrow, joy,
hope or fear over the current and future
state of the industry.
The Spokesman-Review has not been
immune to the negative impacts of the
recession and the migration of some news
readership and classified advertising to the
Internet.
Our employees and carriers hear
questions from readers every day – readers
who ask how the paper is doing and how
we are preparing for the future. Here are
some of the most frequently asked questions
(FAQs), along with the best answers we
can provide.
Q. How long will you be printing and delivering news on paper?
A. Current plans call for us to publish in
print for years to come. Ideally, we will
publish seven days a week and provide
home-delivery to most homes in Spokane,
Kootenai and other counties in the Inland
Northwest. It is safe to assume, however,
that the printed version of the paper will,
in time, be reduced in page-count, as
some news and statistical material, moves
to digital distribution. Printed papers will
form a smaller part of our overall news
business in the future. We think of this as a
migration from paper to digital platforms,
fueled by audience demand and cost factors,
from paper to digital. Changes in consumer
behavior will determine the pace of this
migration. We aim to respond quickly and
adequately to those changes.
Q. What do you consider your core mission? Has it changed?
A. Our mission statement has not changed
since we first adopted one in the early
1980s “To be the preferred source of
news, information and advertising for the
Inland Northwest”. Prior to the 1980s our
mission was simply, “Cover the News,” a
saying often quoted by our first publisher,
William H. Cowles, Senior. Even though we
are smaller today than we were when we
adopted our mission statement,
The Spokesman-Review remains, by far, the
largest newsgathering force in the Inland
Northwest. We have more reporters, in more
places, covering more stories, in greater
depth than any other newspaper, television
station, or radio group in the region. Our
reporting staff today is larger than the
combined reporting staff of
The Spokesman-Review and former
Spokane Chronicle during the 1950s.
Meanwhile, technology has accelerated
the newsgathering and reporting process,
maximizing the productivity of our editorial
and business staffs.
Q. Are you de-emphasizing your
print product?
A. Quality print journalism remains the
bedrock of what we do. It is the preferred
product of most of our readers. Many
readers, however, find us on other media.
We produce the No. 1 regional media
website in spokesman.com – with thousands
of unique users. Spokesman.com records
4,000,000 page-views a month. We also
disseminate our reports on radio and our
general-news websites. In addition, we
support newscasts on KHQ-TV, its sister
stations, SWX, and on several specialized
websites, including DownToEarthNW.com,
GolfNW.com, and BizFinderNW.com. You can
also find us at NewsDirect.com, NewsStand.
com, and on amazon.com’s Kindle e-reader.
Our archives are available via ProQuest.com
and, since May 25, on the Google
Archive system.
Q. How have recent layoffs in your
newsroom affected your ability to cover the news?
A. We would prefer not to have to make
such decisions, but we have to deal with
economic realities just as any business
does. We have made every effort to
minimize newsroom layoffs and maintain
local coverage capabilities. The changes
require us to focus our resources more
than ever on covering and interpreting
local news of significance to Spokane and
Kootenai counties. We are also committed
to coverage of state government by our
reporters stationed in Olympia and Boise.
How are we doing? A recent survey by
Belden & Associates showed that readership
of The Spokesman-Review has largely held
steady (even though paid circulation has
declined) over the past four years. More
people are reading us online these days and
a few more are reading pass-along copies
– but about as many people are reading us
as ever have. Reader satisfaction is one way
we judge ourselves, but we also value peer
review. We are pleased to be a recipient
of a 2009 Voices for Children Award from
the Children’s Alliance for our newsroom’s
reporting on issues facing children in
contemporary society. In addition to winning
many other awards for reporting in regional
and local competitions, we are particularly
pleased to have been named the Idaho Press
Club’s 2009 General Excellence
award winner.
Q. So will you be focusing more on local news and less on national and international news?
A. Our emphasis for years has been
increasingly local. Our Voice products
and Idaho Handle publication keep us
closely focused on news of importance to
communities within our larger readership.
Our Voice products contain dozens of pages
of local news each month. representing
original reporting from throughout the
community by Spokesman-Review staffers
and freelance writers.
Q. All over the country, newspapers and the companies that own them
seem to be in trouble. Some
are going out of business. Is
The Spokesman-Review in the same
boat with the other newspapers?
A. In terms of revenues, we face the
same problems concerning migration
of classified ads to the Internet and to
reduced advertising caused by the recession.
We do not, however, face some of the
pressures that high-profile, publicly traded
newspapers face. While we are having
a weak year financially, we feel we can
weather the storm and look forward to
better times in the years ahead of us.
Q. Is the newspaper for sale?
A. The newspaper is not and has not been
on the market. The Cowles Family, which
owns the paper, has expressed an ongoing
commitment to the paper and strongly
believes that local, privately owned,
independent newspapers are best for most
communities. Of course, in one sense,
the paper is for sale every day—at local
newsstands for 75 cents on weekdays and
Sundays for $2.00.
Q. Are those prices likely to change?
A. We price the newspaper based on
our cost of operation. When advertising
revenues decline or costs rise, the price of
the paper (or even our digital editions)
usually goes up. Earlier this year we raised
our single-copy, newsstand price to 75 cents
on weekdays and $2.00 on Sunday, matching
other papers in our region. On July 1, the
single-copy price of the paper will go to
$1.00 weekdays and $2.50 in most counties
outside Spokane and Kootenai counties. In
comparison, the Sunday New York Times
recently announced plans to go to $2 daily
and $7.50 for home-delivery outside the
New York area. At this point, we plan no
increases in our 2009 home-delivery price.
Q. What if I have other questions?
A. These are just a few of the questions we
have fielded of late. If you have a question
of your own, please contact our Publisher,
W. Stacey Cowles (staceyc@spokesman.com);
our Editor, Gary Graham (garyg@spokesman.
com); or, our Director of Sales and
Marketing, Shaun O’L. Higgins (shaunh@
spokesman.com) We will answer them as
promptly and fully as we can.
Thank you for reading The Spokesman-Review
Whether you read us in print or online, we pledge to provide you with the best news report in the region.
We further pledge to stay in touch with
our communities’ news, advertising and
information needs, and to promote
regional prosperity and quality of life,
now and into the future.
# # #
Contact:
W. Stacey Cowles
Publisher
staceyc@spokesman.com
Gary Graham
Editor
garyg@spokesman.com
Shaun O’L. Higgins
Director of Sales and Marketing
shaunh@spokesman.com
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