NewsBeat

6 NewsBeat July 2017 By BEAH STROH Why the Sunday print edition still reigns supreme for publishers t's Sunday morning, and I'm getting ready to read the news, but I'm not picking up my cell phone or booting up my laptop. I'm picking up my hefty 100- plus page Sunday edition of my local newspaper. As someone you would consider a millennial, you might find it hard to believe that's how I choose to spend my Sunday mornings. Of course, since we no longer have to wait for the news of the world to come solely from the pages of a newspaper, and consequently, we seem to be busier than ever before, why spend what precious time we have with them? Though I was never able to witness the golden age of newspapers, I can now attest to something else that still remains quite special — the Sunday newspaper experience. It's combing through the different sections, enjoying all the non-news related I components, such as the comics and the coupons, where the experience differentiates itself from any other day of the week. Each Sunday morning, my routine consists of devoting an hour or two away from other distractions, with complete focus on absorbing the news I may have missed out on during the week. Admittedly, I can often find myself falling completely behind the never-ending news cycle by Wednesday, but Sundays give me a chance to play catch up. It's a part of the week I generally look forward to, and try to relish, in the midst of a busy schedule. In other words, my Sunday newspaper experience is a concoction of everything I enjoy the most: reading a physical print product filled with news I can trust at a leisurely pace while finding the occasional dollar saving deal. However, as much as I've enjoyed having a paper waiting for me every Sunday, I couldn't help but wonder why? And better yet, what are newspapers doing to maintain the quality of their Sunday print editions? Rediscovering the Value of Print To my surprise, one newspaper discovered several years ago that people like me weren't necessarily as rare as one may think. A few years ago, the staff at The Blade in Toledo, Ohio, was determined to figure out the digital side of things, particularly when it came to growing its online presence. Naturally, the general presumption was that they were doing what the readers in their market not only needed but wanted. The newspaper's leadership ultimately decided the best way to better understand their audience was through several focus groups organized into three age groups: 29 and under, 30 to 50, and 50-plus. Each group was composed of at least a dozen or so people. For a month, every person was given the daily task of looking at the paper's website as well as the print edition delivered to their front porch. Another surprise? Those print coupons found inside the newspaper were preferred over the mobile versions, especially amongst the under 30 age group. "A common response we got was that the act of going through the print coupons was almost like therapy," Fuller said. "They didn't want more stuff on their phone or have to print anything out. We received answers like that even though we know the interviewers were trying to push them more on the idea of digital." Suddenly, a new question arose for The Blade: What would happen if they tried to grow their Sunday print product? At least on paper, the trend had been anything but growth, with the Sunday circulation number steadily declining 4 to 6 percent every year up until that point. With the revelations brought to them by the focus groups, Fuller said the staff recognized it wasn't too late to reverse course. Since shifting their approach back toward growing their Sunday print edition, the paper's circulation has risen from 98,156 in 2014 to just under 100,000 in 2016. Having been told firsthand how beneficial the coupons and inserts were for readers, The Blade made a concerted effort to shine a light on the considerable amount of savings during their marketing campaign that followed. Soon, billboards, social media, and even billing statements featured the slogan: "The paper that pays for itself."

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