4 ms·

Did anyone here commenting actually read a copy of USA Today on paper before? The Nieman Lab article is not about paywalls per se, but paywalls in USA Today. Pe

Did anyone here commenting actually read a copy of USA Today on paper before? The Nieman Lab article is not about paywalls per se, but paywalls in USA Today. People forget that pre-internet, USA Today was basically a news aggregator that just happened to print other people's stories on newspaper form. Their business model was to bulk sell these papers to chain hotels. Most of their readers had never paid for a copy of USA Today. So, if few reader in its heyday paid direct for it, and Gannet hasn't really changed the structure or content of USA Today in the last 25 years, what makes them think that readers will pay directly for it now in the internet age?

tyingq 5y ago
>Did anyone here commenting actually read a copy of USA Today on paper before? Yes, though because it was provided by a hotel for free. I can't imagine paying for one.
- dredmorbius 5y ago
  Oh, you paid for it. A major USA Today revenue model has been passive consumption through hotel distribution. To the tune of $82 million/year. (Total revenues are estimated at $3.4 billion for the privately-held company.[1]) https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/08/02/how-usa-today-slips-82-million-a-year-onto-your-hotel-bill/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/08/02/how-us... (This Forbes article is in fact linked in the Nielsen piece anchoring this thread.) Edit: Hotel revenue contribution downgraded from "a principle" to "a major" w/ information from Owler.com. ________________________________ Notes: 1. https://www.owler.com/company/usatoday https://www.owler.com/company/usatoday
  - crazygringo 5y ago
    Well, the article says there's basically a 50% chance you paid for it explicitly on your room bill. Which shocks me, I always look at my bill in detail (out of curiosity) and I've never seen that in my life. Is this specific to certain types or brands of hotels, that I somehow rarely/never stay in? For the other half... now it's got me wondering what hotels pay USA Today on average per newspaper? I'd always assumed it was free or at least nearly free, just an ad delivery mechanism. But now you've got me curious.
    - tyingq 5y ago
      >the article says there's basically a 50% chance you paid for it explicitly on your room bill I'd like to think I'd have noticed that, at least once. That's a pretty shitty tactic.
    - Spooky23 5y ago
      Hilton affiliates used to have an opt-out model where you get a refund ranging from $0.50-$2.50 depending on the property or franchisee.
mapgrep 5y ago
> People forget that pre-internet, USA Today was basically a news aggregator that just happened to print other people's stories on newspaper form. This part you’re wrong about, USA Today has always had its own reporters, a fair number of them, although it’s probably true they ran plenty of wire service stories as well, and may have run stories from other papers run by the parent company (Gannett). It’s true about the hotels and as far as I know few people ever bought direct subscriptions.
walkedaway 5y ago
I don't think the data backs your claim. Sure, maybe in the 2000s after the internet began to dent its model it became a hotel paper, but in its heyday (the 80s and 90s) it was very popular option from newsstands (I'm old enough to remember dropping 50 cents for a copy). Back in the day, it was common for people to grab their favorite local paper and a USA Today. USA Today was great at national coverage of sports which apparently drove newspaper sales. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Today#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Today#History

tyingq 5y ago

>Did anyone here commenting actually read a copy of USA Today on paper before? Yes, though because it was provided by a hotel for free. I can't imagine paying for one.

dredmorbius 5y ago
Oh, you paid for it. A major USA Today revenue model has been passive consumption through hotel distribution. To the tune of $82 million/year. (Total revenues are estimated at $3.4 billion for the privately-held company.[1]) https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/08/02/how-usa-today-slips-82-million-a-year-onto-your-hotel-bill/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/08/02/how-us... (This Forbes article is in fact linked in the Nielsen piece anchoring this thread.) Edit: Hotel revenue contribution downgraded from "a principle" to "a major" w/ information from Owler.com. ________________________________ Notes: 1. https://www.owler.com/company/usatoday https://www.owler.com/company/usatoday
- crazygringo 5y ago
  Well, the article says there's basically a 50% chance you paid for it explicitly on your room bill. Which shocks me, I always look at my bill in detail (out of curiosity) and I've never seen that in my life. Is this specific to certain types or brands of hotels, that I somehow rarely/never stay in? For the other half... now it's got me wondering what hotels pay USA Today on average per newspaper? I'd always assumed it was free or at least nearly free, just an ad delivery mechanism. But now you've got me curious.
  - tyingq 5y ago
    >the article says there's basically a 50% chance you paid for it explicitly on your room bill I'd like to think I'd have noticed that, at least once. That's a pretty shitty tactic.
  - Spooky23 5y ago
    Hilton affiliates used to have an opt-out model where you get a refund ranging from $0.50-$2.50 depending on the property or franchisee.

mapgrep 5y ago

> People forget that pre-internet, USA Today was basically a news aggregator that just happened to print other people's stories on newspaper form. This part you’re wrong about, USA Today has always had its own reporters, a fair number of them, although it’s probably true they ran plenty of wire service stories as well, and may have run stories from other papers run by the parent company (Gannett). It’s true about the hotels and as far as I know few people ever bought direct subscriptions.

walkedaway 5y ago

I don't think the data backs your claim. Sure, maybe in the 2000s after the internet began to dent its model it became a hotel paper, but in its heyday (the 80s and 90s) it was very popular option from newsstands (I'm old enough to remember dropping 50 cents for a copy). Back in the day, it was common for people to grab their favorite local paper and a USA Today. USA Today was great at national coverage of sports which apparently drove newspaper sales. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Today#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Today#History