How thick was your Thanksgiving newspaper?

Well, if you work at a place that does commercial printing. You make money off printing the insert, money off putting the insert in the paper and you have the added value of saying the Sunday coupons pay for the subscription.
If you buy an ad for five grand, it will cost more than that if your shop charges for ad production, those ads don't design themselves.
An insert in the full press run costs much more than a full-page ad. I've seen the rate care. Inserts are expensive, but still cheaper than direct mail.
That's what keep some of those monthly niche business pubs going.
The ones that hit high-income groups like lawyers and doctors.

 

Nah. That's just not the case.
I work at a decent sized-paper in an area of 10-or-so-million people. We're not commercial printers.
Ask someone in advertising how much involvement they have with the inserts. Most of those inserts are done by marketing/printing agencies or the department store's in-house production staff. (Where they're printed can be varied).
You think you have a guy at your paper designing coupons?

 

I was in our roll room today and saw palates of what looked like inserts, so I assume we just get them delivered and the mailroom people stuff them in the paper whenever they are supposed to run.

 

I'd have no problem paying extra for the Thanksgiving paper to get the ads. Hell, I pay 5-to-10 times as much for a game program at sporting events, and those don't have coupons.

 

Yes, fishwrapper, it's true, pre-printed inserts are usually charged a lower rate than display ads. But it's stinking revenue. You can't turn your nose up at it, considering the condition most in this industry are in.