Hey, there! Log in / Register
The decline of the Roslindale Transcript's readership
By adamg on Mon, 10/17/2016 - 11:19pm
A reader of GateHouse's Transcript took a look at the annual circulation form in the paper the other week and was shocked to see how few people now take the paper: In a neighborhood of roughly 30,000 people - about 12,000 households - barely more than 200 people now subscribe (and only 8 people bought it at a newsstand).
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
441-217= 224
Does this mean over half the printed copies go unsold and unread?
Any word on the Globe's subscription numbers?
Gate House has become a joke but the Boston Globe still pretends to have some credibility. Any word on the loss of subscribers after the Wiki-Leaks revelation that they were actively working with Hillary? Or the loss of subscribers (like me) who canceled after the fake Trump front page? At the risk of repeating myself, when I called the "Dorchester" number to cancel, a lovely woman in Manila, Philippines told me in broken English that, "many, many" had canceled the Globe that day. How come we don't hear those numbers? All I have seen is more layoffs and planned move to rental property. I can infer the damage but would still like to see what they lost. God bless the mailers, drivers and honest reporters who have suffered from the bias.
If you really cared, you could find out
The Globe is required to print a similar circulation notice. I'd try to find it myself, but, sorry, I just don't care.
329,514
That's the total Sunday Globe circulation reported on the USPS statement of October 2. It includes 83,404 paid electronic copies, the rest is the paid circulation of the printed Globe.
Drugs
You really need to lay off the 25i-NBOMe.. its really starting to go to your head.
Why does it upset you so deeply
When someone speaks the truth, in this case, about the dire circumstances of the fourth estate in this country? They are, in fact, incredibly biased, and with this election, the mask has finally, completely, fallen off.
I want to tell you the truth
I want to tell you the truth about why it upsets me so deeply when someone speaks the truth, but if I tell you the truth, it will just upset me even more deeply. You can see the bind I'm in!
So true
just look at what bunch of under-informed, Russia loving racists the main constituents of the GOP are these days. The mask provided by Romney, Bush, McCain 1.0 has fallen off and we can see the nihilist, nativist rotten core for what it is.
Probably lost more
Probably lost more subscribers when Wikileaks revealed journalists at the Globe directly coordinating stories with her campaign and giving editorial power to campaign staff. That's not being a newspaper. That's a PR firm.
Since when has the Globe NOT
Since when has the Globe NOT been a PR firm for the connected in Boston? The Olympic debacle was the icing on the cake!
Link?
I have not heard of this. Can you link to a page with more information?
This is one of the emails
This is one of the emails:
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/4180
There are several more involving Globe staff.
I hadn't heard it either
My good friend Google helped:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/11/emails-boston-globe-coordinated-how-to...
It's not really any blockbuster, which is why the rest of the media didn't really bother to play it up.
Thanks for the link
I get why collaboration between a campaign and major newspaper is terrible, but this election cycle...I'm not sure anything can top this craziness. That, and I'm all for whatever keeps Trump out of office.
This election cycle?!
Look, I'm no fan of Trump (even though I'm a Democrat, I would have voted for Kasich in a second) but the media needs to be professionally neutral. The editorial parts (and yes, I run the gamut from the Globe to Fox News) is one thing, but news should not be responsible to political campaigns.
This is standard practice of
This is standard practice of asking for comment and verifying facts. Nothing nefarious or scandalous.
Quick note on Wikileaks
so just to be clear, we're all cool with assuming that the information provided to Wikileaks by Russian hackers is totally clean and accurate info? Like what's the chain of custody on that info?
I signed up after the foreshadowing Trump piece
Maybe a net effect of 0 negates any losses that would be reported.
Sad, but not surprising
In my youth, I delivered the Transcript. At the end, I had a lot of territory (Healy Field, Florence Street, the railroad tracks that go to Providence, Canterbury Street, and Poplar Street) and probably 80 papers for that geography. When I moved out, I never got my own subscription. Why? By that time, the Bulletin was out. It was and continues to be the better source for local coverage. It's just the way things go. Back in the 1940s the Jamaica Plain Citizen was a shining star, but by the 1990s the Gazette had taking the mantle, with the Citizen being a quaint throwback.
Of course, the internet helped put a dent in circulation figures, but at the end of the day the question has to be- is the Transcript even relevant today.
Internet is Good and Bad
The Internet has its place here since many people will go to look at the on-line versions of newspapers. It is being seen as the death knell for the printed version of newspapers.
Frankly speaking I tend to do that myself.
However when the Bulletin went to a paid model for on-line access I stopped checking it out. Eventually they ceased the paid model and went back to offering a PDF version. It is there, be it buried on their web site.
Gateway, aka Wicked Local, is pretty much becoming a deal killer for me. Their new pop-up video adverts that YOU CANNOT CLICK OFF OR OPT OUT OF, force you to view the advert in total. Even YouTube adverts offer an opt out after a few seconds.
So if I want to read a story, I have to call it up, go take a leak, and then come back after all the schmaltz has gone by.
The adverts might not be such a problem but on occasion the company that is providing the videos has connectivity issues. This causes the video to not load or stall and you can't do anything. You have to quit your browser and try again. I'm running a modern W10 system with a decent DSL connection. This is the only news site that really gives me a problem with regularity.
Don't bother complaining to the editors of the regional editions. They have no control over this and complaints sent via them fall on deaf ears.
Sad really
Bulletin site
They've been doing regular Web versions of articles for several months now.
That said
The paper/pdf version of the Bulletin somehow has a few more articles than the straight website.
I was looking for an article last week and noticed the slight difference.
I thought all those "quirky"
I thought all those "quirky" imports to Rozzie wanted to be part of the community. Smh. On another note, some people are obsessed with The Globe, Hillary, wikileaks, etc. That has a lot to do with this story smh again.
Thanks, gramps
Not taking the Transcript is hardly a rejection of the neighborhood when you've got the Bulletin and, yes, the "quirky" Facebook group.
That's a shame. I find that
That's a shame. I find that you can get most news via internet except for hyper local news. I always subscribe to my local paper because that's the best way to know what's going on in town. Those Patch sites missed a lot of local happenings and I've yet to find a web site that covers local town news well.
I really don't think I've seen hyper local news done well on the internet and I think there is a need for it.
I was out and they pulled me back
When my last subscription expired I just let it go. I felt like between uHub, The Patch, EveryBlock, The Bulletin (when I can find it) and yes the Globe, I was getting 90% of the local stuff I needed to read. After a few "reminder" letters they sent me one that got me to continue: Two years for the price of one. At that price, it's worth it.
I remember getting a call the first week I lived in Roslindale in 1991 offering the Transcript for like $35 for the whole year. It used to be essential and inexpensive. Sadly, it's now rather pricey and not all that essential.
The fish I wrap with it seem
The fish I wrap with it seem to like it.
How do they survive?
How do these local papers that have such tiny circulations manage to hang on? Advertisers can't be getting much of a response, I'm surprised they don't stop spending the money after a while.
Regional advertising
Gatehouse owns tons of papers around here, so you go for the sorts of advertisers trying to reach more of that market.