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CAPITAL REGION
Newspaper prices continue to rise
BY AMEERAH CETAWAYO Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Ameerah Cetawayo at 395-3040 or acetawayo@dailygazette. net.

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    Readers who buy the Times Union at newsstands now have to plunk down $1 instead of 75 cents.
    “The customers that we surveyed have supported the idea that our product is worth that price,” Times Union Circulation Director Mark Vinciguerra said. “We are more in line with other regional and national newspapers at this price.”
    The New York Times is priced at $2 and USA Today sells for $1, along with other New York dailies that also sell for $1, he added.
    The price increase does not affect areas outside of Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga and Rensselaer counties, which were already at the new price. The price for early Sunday or Saturday editions is still $1 and Sunday papers will still sell for $2 in core markets. In outlying areas, the early Sunday edition is still $1.50 and $2.50.
    The decision follows a price increase a year ago for its Monday through Friday paper from 50 cents to 75 cents. The TU’s seven-day subscriptions also increased in price over the year from $5 to $5.50.
    A year ago, TU Publisher Mark Aldam said the previous increase was a reflection of the “increased cost of newsprint and the paper’s desire to ensure that home delivery costs less than the newsstand price.”
    “We’re trying to raise more revenues from subscriptions and from newsstand sales than what was previously done. But the Times Union is not unique in that. Many newspapers have decided that the mix between advertising and circulation should rely more on circulation than it has in the past,” Vinciguerra said.
    Earlier this year, Vinciguerra said previous price increases affected circulation. The TU’s average weekday circulation fell to 73,444 in September from 83,496, a 12 percent decrease over the year. Saturday circulation fell to 68,114 from 74,136 while Sunday circulation rose to 143,424 from 143,261. ..............>>>>..............>>>>............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00500&AppName=1

Still reasonable for the TU considering the coverage ... just renewed my subscription with them for another year.