tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7221704271723140633.post2433982180684781257..comments2023-11-03T06:12:54.574-07:00Comments on PR in LA: It's here, but too latePR in Los Angeleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578532054640657259noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7221704271723140633.post-23745994078711629022009-05-05T12:39:00.000-07:002009-05-05T12:39:00.000-07:00As a former employee of the Los Angeles Times (my ...As a former employee of the Los Angeles Times (my role was to forecast the continuing declining trend of circulation for financial and operational planning sake), I can tell you that the Kindle has been tossed around as an idea for reducing distribution costs to outlying subscribers in areas where there are still a handful or loyal LA Times readers, such as Hemet. The problem is, these readers like the traditional touch and feel of the newspaper and are not as tech saavy as the folks who are departing the paper for online print or on their smart phones. To make matters worse, management at the LA Times, has no background in developing lease models to earn any return on investment ("ROI") on deploying Kindles or other newspaper readers to subscribers so any net savings could easily be lost in the hardware costs. In other words, newspapers don't have the same "hooks" to keep subscribers as cell phone carriers can offer, offering large discounts on the hardware to keep up the monthly service. That being said, the Kindle is not a large scale solution for medium to large newspapers such as the LA Times, no matter how you work the numbers (unless you're selling the subscriptions to a still somewhat nascent base of new Kindle adopters who are willing to pay the hardware costs on their own).Derekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17117459206096996532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7221704271723140633.post-73684235651204583482009-05-05T10:50:00.000-07:002009-05-05T10:50:00.000-07:00Denis, I too, grew up on newspapers and used to be...Denis, I too, grew up on newspapers and used to be one of those delivery boys on a bike at 5AM throwing the paper on porches. I love journalism and newsprint, so it was with great regret that I canceled my subscriptions to the LA Times and the NY Times. I blogged about the experience at<br /><br /> http://plmartinwrite.blogspot.com/2008/12/end-papers.html.<br /><br />So we wait for what the future holds, but I am not sure Kindle is the answer.<br /><br />Paul L. Martin<br />The Teacher's View<br />http://plmartinwrite.blogspot.comPaul L. Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16571449117336295156noreply@blogger.com