Selling Papers: No News Required

In Nashville today, I stopped by a newspaper rack intending to buy a local newspaper, but I discovered that they were charging $1.75 for the rag on a day when I doubted that the content sections of the paper would have been expanded and there was little hard news to report. I put my money back in my pocket.

Of course, it is not uncommon now for dailies to market their Sunday offerings by printing at the top of page one the aggregate savings available through the enclosed coupons. However, the Thanksgiving Day price gouging is a reminder that modern newspapers regard themselves as dressed up versions of the Thrifty Nickel.

That is why most people who are consumers of NEWS increasingly make the same choice that I did.