Subscribe To This Newspaper, Get An iPad

Walter E. Hussman Jr. is banking on technology to save the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The newspaper publisher has bought thousands of iPads to give to subscribers who no longer receive print editions of the Democrat-Gazette. Some of those subscribers still receive the printed edition of the Sunday newspaper.

The efforts come as Hussman is being celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Arkansas Gazette.

"Basically, I've devoted most of my life to publishing a newspaper in this town," Hussman, 72, says. "I think that society and our democracy are going to be so impeded if we don't have newspapers."

The cost of printing a newspaper, loading it on trucks, delivering it all over the state and paying carriers to deliver it to homes is expensive. And many local retailers who are struggling to compete against online giants such as Amazon can't afford to advertise.

So Hussman is sending out teams of newspaper employees to different areas of the state to show subscribers how to use an iPad to read a digital replica of the print edition.

Walter Hussman Jr.

Hussman needs to convert about 70% of his print subscribers to digital subscribers to make his plan succeed. Those subscribers would need to pay at or near the full subscription rate.

"If we can get pretty close to our full rate, we don't have to cut a dollar out of the newsroom. We don't have to cut staff. We don't have to cut any news hole. We can expand the news hole because it won't cost one penny in newsprint." Hussman is referring to the amount of space on a page for the news.

The Sunday print edition of the Democrat-Gazette is still profitable and provides about 40% of the paper's advertising. The rest of the week, the paper loses money, he says.

"The print model is not going to make it for newspapers. I don't care what town you are in in America," he says.

The weekday print edition could "conceivably" come to an end in central Arkansas, he says. He hopes to always continue printing a Sunday edition.

Edward VanHorn, executive director of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association in Atlanta, called Hussman "a visionary with proven insights about what it takes to run a successful newspaper."

"Digital delivery of newspaper content has many advantages," VanHorn says. "Stories that are not confined to print can be more up-to-date, more visual, interactive and accessible whether readers are at home or away. Readers can make the type larger and easier to read.

Hussman Jr. started working for his father at age 10, inserting papers on Saturday mornings. He made 25 cents an hour and remembers when he earned his first dollar. He spent part of it on a cheeseburger and fries.