reduce that cost because you’re migrating audiences to digital, that reduces some of the overhead.” Radcliffe points to The Oregonian as an example. Oregon’s largest paper began decreasing the frequency with which it is printed a decade ago — and it is still printed and delivered only four days a week. Other papers, like The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, have made more radical changes to encourage “digital migration.” In 2018, in an effort to persuade its loyal print subscribers to become online-only readers, it bought each of them an iPad — and sent out a fleet of tutors showing them how to use them. (In this case, they were able to read a PDF of the paper, which is more similar to the experience of reading a physical newspaper.) The New York Times hasn’t done anything so extreme, and it’s doubtful that they intend to alienate longtime subscribers. In fact, as Radcliffe points out, the Sunday paper is still a profit-maker for them. “All of their headlines are around the growth of digital, but they still make a lot of money from the print product — and it’s still a sizable part of their overall advertising pie,” Radcliffe says. The print product has also become prohibitively expensive. Subscribing to the Sunday Times here in Portland currently costs $18.75 per week—or $75 a month (that includes online access). Compare that to an introductory offer for an online-only subscription, which is just $4 a month (but will rise to $25 a month — still one-third the cost of a print subscription). n n n WHICH BRINGS US BACK TO LOYAL Portland area New York Times customers like Karly Edwards. For Edwards, a union organizer at AFSCME, the physical Sunday Times had become a weekly source of joy. Initially, the subscription was a birthday gift from her husband a few years ago. Soon Edwards was hooked and kept renewing it. “It’s a little luxury! You’re in the drudgery of everyday life, and to be home and get your lovely paper, showering you with bad news and a sprinkle of art and culture,” Edwards says. After her repeated delivery troubles earlier this year, though, she grew frustrated and eventually went to an online-only subscription, which she calls “dissatisfying.” “I really didn’t want to cancel,” Edwards says. “I loved getting The New York Times on Sunday. You drink your coffee, you get your paper, you read your “Modern Love” out loud. Until the ritual became claiming my $18 and being mad and drinking my coffee!” You lose a lot by reading online, it turns out. Research shows that you spend less time reading when you read online. “Our media consumption is often shallower [online] because we’re dipping in and it’s a less immersive experience,” Radcliffe at UO says. According to Pew, the average visit to the top 50 newspapers was just under one minute and 30 seconds in 2022. This is a 43 % decline from when Pew first began tracking in 2014. There’s also a serendipity to physical media or, as Radcliffe prefers to call it, “non-algorithmically delivered media” — that allows you to chance upon stories and content that you otherwise would miss. You read a headline or scan a story that you wouldn’t have seen on the “In Case You Missed It” list. Online, algorithms like the ones on Netflix and Spotify suggest content based on what you’ve already read. “Rather than: And here’s something from left field that you may have not have even known you wanted or liked. It’s much harder to bump into content online that would be unexpected but equally delightful and useful.” n n n AS SOON AS SHE’D GOTTEN Keith Miller’s phone number, every time Haas didn’t get her paper, she texted him. “I’m sure he was totally sick of me!” she says, laughing. For a while, she started to get the paper during the week but wouldn’t get it on Sunday. “I’d be like, ‘OK, Keith, it’s 11:00 a.m. Are we gonna be getting a Sunday paper today?’” Gradually, her paper began to appear with regularity. “Now we get the paper every day. And it’s even sometimes not in the bushes but on the walkway!” Haas says. (One time she found it on the roof of her porch.) Haas, at least, has gone back to reliably reading her paper on her couch rather than on her laptop. But what about Portlanders like Edwards, who didn’t know this was a systemic issue? Like most Portland Times subscribers, she doesn’t have Keith’s personal cell phone number. But even if she had it, she wouldn’t call him, she says. She expects better customer service from the paper of record. Would she ever subscribe to the print version again if they lured her back? She’d be delighted to fork over the $75 per month again — “if they were gonna have reliable delivery!” she says. Keith: She’s awaiting your call. New York Times subscriber Karly Edwards now reads the paper online. 36
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