Local Newspapers Try Mail Delivery

Many local news publishers across the U.S. are choosing to mail their newspapers to subscribers as they cope with driver shortages—a problem exacerbated by high fuel costs, wage inflation and the secular decline of the newspaper industry that has meant that subscribers in some areas are too few and far between for traditional delivery to make sense. 

The Wall Street Journal reports the number of newspapers sent to subscribers or sold at newsstands has dropped by about a third in 2½ years, according to recent data from the Alliance for Audited Media that looks at circulation for the top 50 newspapers.

Chris Reen, president and CEO of Clarity Media Group, publisher of several local publications, including the Colorado Springs Gazette, said the company is considering mail for some regional papers but grappling with the idea that readers who rely on print will be getting outdated news.

Gannett Co., the largest news publisher in the country, last year began exploring replacing carrier delivery with mail delivery in a small number of local markets where it has been hardest to recruit drivers, including South Bend, Ind., where subscribers on some delivery routes are too spread out. 

The company, which publishes more than 400 print titles, including USA Today and the Detroit Free Press, is currently mailing papers in about 20 markets and plans to replace at least some routes with mail in eight more markets this month. 

Subscribers getting papers in the mail have a high probability of getting their papers at some point the same day—better than 99% on average—though it isn’t guaranteed by the Postal Service, said Wayne Pelland, Gannett’s senior vice president of publishing operations. Generally, half are getting their papers in the morning, and half are getting them in the afternoon, he said.

“We don’t use our newspapers as breaking-news vehicles,” said Amalie Nash, senior vice president of local news and audience development at Gannett-owned USA Today Network. She said the company relies on its digital platforms for breaking news and subscription growth. 

Brad Hill, CEO at Interlink, a company that helps publishers transition to mail delivery, said that publishers’ demand for mail delivery has skyrocketed in the past couple of years. 

“You can often mail a local newspaper across town for 15 cents or less,” compared with about 30 to 50 cents, and in some cases as much as 80 cents, for traditional delivery, said Mr. Hill, who works with more than 2,000 publications across the country.