THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994 TAG: 9406040016
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LYNN FEIGENBAUM
DATELINE: 940605 LENGTH: Medium
Why? Because readers have had quite a bit to say about our ads, especially since the redesign last year. A typical comment:
{REST} ``It seems to me there's more advertising and less news. Today you had 20 pages in the A section and 11 of them were full-page ads. That doesn't leave much space for news.''
The first time I heard that, I was taken aback. I've never been in the ad side of the business. In fact, there was a time when we (newsies) and they (ad reps) barely spoke to each other. Separation of church and state to the nth degree.
But even I know that gobs of readers (71 percent, according to a national survey) use the newspaper as a shopping tool. In fact, some buy the paper just for the ads and coupons. For them, the news is at best a minor bonus, at worst a nuisance.
But the ad questions persisted so I cornered two experts - Bruce Bradley, who was advertising director for the The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star before being promoted to vice president and general manager; and Bob Morgan, display advertising manager. Here are their answers to your questions:
Ever since the redesign, there have been more ads in the news sections. Why did you change this?
We didn't. The redesign, launched Nov. 15, involved only news content, not ads. It might have looked like there were more ads because the redesign began at a peak advertising period - just before Christmas. Generally, ads tend to drop off in the summertime, picking up again in mid-August.
Don't ads take away from our news space?
No, just the opposite. More ads mean more pages in the paper - and that usually means extra room for news as well. Of course, in a section full of ads, the news is more spread out, rather than being concentrated in a couple of pages.
Is a set amount of space set aside for news?
Look at any newspaper and you'll see that news space changes from day to day. On the whole, though, the percentages are pretty consistent annually. Last year, 58 percent of Pilot and Ledger space went to advertising, 42 percent to news - that's about the norm for the industry.
But you never used to have this many ads.
If you're seeing more ads in the paper, it's probably a reflection of an expanding economy. Typically, newspaper ads are a leading indicator of better times. When the economy was in the doldrums, it wasn't unusual to have eight-page A sections, ads included.
I don't like having to thumb through all those full-page ads in the A section.
We're trying to balance the needs of two groups, readers and advertisers. Our goal is to satisfy both, and most of our advertisers prefer to be in the A section. Also, individual retailers find it more effective to have four or six pages of ads consecutively, rather than have them dispersed in different sections.
Why are there so many full-page ads on Tuesdays?
Ads are not only seasonal, they go up and down in volume at different times of the week. Tuesday is one of the slower days so we offer a special discount on full pages. But we're trying to do better at spreading them in different sections.
Some ads, especially on Tuesdays, don't look like they belong in the A section - they're busy looking.
You're referring to ``price and item'' advertising. An ad with only one or two items looks nicer but, depending on the product, it might not pay for the ad.
We are working on improving ad design. Recently, we had a nationally recognized expert here as a consultant and we're sending our artists to training programs.
Those are the most persistent questions I hear from readers.
I'm not a great shopper myself and I zap TV commercials. But I know they pay the bills, and if a favorite show doesn't have advertiser support, it could be in trouble. So bring on the commercials.
To me, a healthy paper is a fat paper - stuffed full of both news and ads. That way, you can take your pick and read what you like. Remember that old yellow-page jingle? Let your fingers do the walking. . .
WRONG NUMBER. Newspapers perform a community service when they provide phone numbers for information. Wrong numbers are a disservice, and not just to readers.
A man who works nights got about 65 calls Wednesday morning for Harborfest information because of a Daily Break typo.
And the folks at S.B. Ballard, a Norfolk construction company, fielded more than 100 calls for Clean the Bay Day volunteers, thanks to another misprint.
Looks like we need to let our fingers do the walking. by CNB