The Plight of the Newspaper Industry

     In the Korner, lots of talk recently about the Ames/Boone BNR, which has led to discussion of the current plight of the newspaper industry in general.
     Its obvious that the internet and social media have quickly damaged the "old fashioned" way of obtaining news. Those not accepting and becoming part of this "new" phenomenon are finding themselves "behind," newswise, on a daily basis.
     One of our great Korner supporters provided some interesting story information this week regarding circulation problems facing the state's most widely read newspaper, the Des Moines Register. The info appeared in the publication "City View," dated August of 2016.
     In long paragraph form, there are many figures thrown at the reader, which makes it difficult to easily recall, comprehend and compare. So, the Kornerman's solution is to attempt to make readability easier by providing the info into more of a "pared down," form.
     For the first time in close to 100 years, fewer than 100,000 Iowans are now getting the Sunday Register delivered to their doorsteps or mailboxes.
     For the quarter ended March 31, paid circulation of the print edition of the Sunday Register totaled 120,032, down 10,065 from a year earlier. Delivered subsciptions from that time fell to 98,858, down from 104,711 a year earlier.
     In 1951, the circulation peaked at 553,000. That, of course, was just prior to the advance of television and before the internet was even conceived.
     An attempt has been made by the Register to propel digital subscriptions but that is not "filling the gap." The digital version contains all the news and most of the advertising that is in the print edition but it totaled only 2,582 views, up just 733 copies from a year earlier.
     Last year, print and digital circulation of Sunday newspapers nationally fell four percent and that of weekday newspapers fell seven percent so this is not a "local" problem but a national condition.
     Very interesting. We thank our good source for the information.
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     John Kueck, BHS-61, wrote, "thanks for providing the death notices. For those of us living out of town, it is very informative. Often, it reminds me of memories of people that I knew when living in Boone. I was a BNR paper boy for six years, cheating the system by starting before I was the required age. In addition  to learning some banking skills and customer relations, the paper route afforded me a few luxuries other kids did not have. I was able to buy the most expensive ball glove offered in Boone. At 16, I was able to buy my first car from savings I had accumulated over the years.This was all from making about $7 per week for delivering about 100 newspapers. As I remember, the pay was six cents per paper per week and that increased to seven cents when the weekly subscription increased from 30 to 35 cents."
     Editor's note: John had some questions about current local carriers pay and the subscription rate which will soon be subject to change I assume. I guess we've been paying $35 for 13 weeks of the three times a week edition. I have no idea what the carriers are paid. Of course, many of the newspapers, like ours, are received in the mail.
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     Boone Connected Deaths: Myrtle Carver, 96, Ankeny. Attended Dayton and Boxholm schools. Dayton HS-38..........Lonnie Grail, 66, Arispe. Madrid HS-68..........Carolyn (Skip) Larson, 84, Boone...........Vina Johnson Happel, 94, Boone. Born in Pilot Mound. Pilot HS-39. In Boone, worked in accounting for Sears and at Hawkeye Federal Savings Bank. Also worked at Bourns in Ames, owned a grocery store and popcorn stand in Boone. Boone area survivors include her sisters-in-law, Bonnie Pestotnik and Betty Eastlund........Richard (Skinny) Anderson, 88, Green Valley, AZ. Raised in Boone. BHS-46. Lived in Oregon for 28 years and traveled the northwest for a company. Married Dee Anderson of Stratford. Dee is a survivor.
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     Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 710 Aldrich, Boone, Iowa 50036-4703. Phone number is 515-432-1530. To email your stories/memories/comments/support........
kelleyskorner1@gmail.com.