The Newsroom

Here's something that often gets lost in discussions about the future of newspapers - the cost of the paper itself.
As if our business fundamentals weren't challenging enough already - with the shift toward online and a declining overall economy - newsprint prices are increasing steadily. That's a major part of our expense base, and it's hastening our efforts to pack more information into less space. You've probably seen some of this, in the form of more briefs, shorter stories and smaller sections. (There's another reason for this, of course - the time constraints of active Americans. Studies are all over the place on this, but the average time spent reading a daily newspaper is in the 20-30-minute range.)
Will the cost come back down? Probably, at some point. But for now, it's a delicate balance, as we try to provide more content while controlling our newsprint expenses. And while online is unquestionably a huge part of our future, the printed newspaper is still the medium of choice for the 60,000 subscribers and single-copy buyers who receive The Sun each day, and for the advertisers who want to reach them.