Raising prices in papers

By: Erin Floro

USA Today decided to up the price of its newspaper 25 cents to make up for the rising in newsprint costs.  Newspapers all over the country have been facing a decline in circulation and low advertising revenue because of all the readers who have turned to the internet.  With the economy in a rut ad sales have also gone down this year.

The New York Times rose 25 cents in August to $1.50, and the Wall Street Journal increased by 50 cents in July reaching $2 for a paper.  The USA Today is still lower than both of those papers reaching $1.  Newsprint costs have risen to a 12-year high and prices are presumed to keep ascending.  

Larry Lindquist, USA Today's senior vice president for circulation hopes that there will still be a big demand for USA Today from consumers, and the marketplace will support their new price.

The price increase puts more pressure on journalists and publishers to make sure the paper is full of good information and is worth $1 to readers.  The increase could also help the paper's profits if circulation doesn't have a severe drop as a result.