This time it’s the U.S. Postal Service that is kicking the Morning News — and every other American newspaper — square in the jeans. This announcement was made a couple of days ago. The USPS is proposing to cut the rates it charges one of America’s largest direct-marketing companies, Valassis Communications. That would mean more junk mail for you and me, and it would mean a smaller advertising bundle in the Sunday Morning News. The newspaper industry says the move could rob it of $1 billion in annual revenue from Sunday inserts and advertising fliers it sends to non-subscribers.
Time to do some math. Last year, the newspaper industry as a whole did $20.7 billion in revenue. A.H. Belo did $461 million. So Belo accounts for 2.2 percent of the entire industry. And 2.2 percent of $1 billion is, yes, $22 million. That’s nearly 5 percent of Belo’s revenue. Gone.
Sometimes you just can’t catch a break.
