THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 27, 1995 TAG: 9509270449
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FARRELL KRAMER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
In the fast-moving world of news, it's often said that today's newspaper is tomorrow's birdcage liner. If so, Tweety has never had it so good.
Newsprint, the gray stock on which reporters, editors and illustrators chronicle the day's events, has become more expensive than ever before. A price increase that took effect Sept. 1 has put newsprint at an all-time high - even when adjusted for inflation.
Prices have nearly doubled in the past two years, forcing publishers to devise a range of money-saving responses.
The newspaper industry's struggle is similar to the travails of other industries beholden to the up-and-down prices of raw materials. When steel prices rise, it's more expensive to make cars. When semiconductor prices soar, computer makers get squeezed.
Fortunately for publishers and other commodity purchasers, there's always the flip side: Rising prices eventually fall.
``It's just a normal part of our business,'' says William Metzfield, president of Gannett Supply Corp., the purchasing subsidiary of Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper company.
``It's cyclical, it has its ups and downs,'' Metzfield says. ``Last time, it probably went down more than most times, and now it's probably gone up higher than historic trends. Commodities level out, whether it's oil or gasoline.''
The fact that prices fluctuate, though, doesn't mean publishers are having an easy time. Efforts to consume less newsprint, cut costs and increase revenue have become priorities.
Charles E. Richardson, publisher and president of the Daily Rocket-Miner of Rock Springs, Wyo., says his paper has focused on getting its printing presses to work more efficiently and on efforts to cut waste.
First, says Richardson, whose 8,200 circulation paper publishes Tuesday through Saturday, the Daily Rocket-Miner has worked to adjust the press ink more quickly at the beginning of each publication run, causing less paper to be wasted with smudged or too-light sheets.
Also, the newspaper is working to run newsprint rolls as far down to the core as possible before changing them. Newsprint comes rolled around a stiff core much like household paper towels.
``We haven't altered staff nor have we cut circulation to outlying areas,'' Richardson says. ``I know a lot of bigger papers have done that. We've tried to put out the same paper we always have and keep the same customers.''
As for profit erosion caused by higher newsprint costs, Richardson says his paper has simply taken the hit.
The extent of that hit varies from newspaper to newspaper. Some, like the Daily Rocket-Miner, are able to absorb the price increases without major difficulties. Others cannot.
This year, for example, the Houston Post folded, citing newsprint costs as one reason.
The list goes on.
``Those newspapers that've laid off or eliminated editions, or have actually shut down, have done it for a host of reasons, not just newsprint,'' says Miles Groves, chief economist at the Newspaper Association of America, an industry trade group. by CNB