Newspapers alive and well! For Real! On November 5 anyway

Freep printed an extra 50K, Birmingham printed an extra 35k

 

Hee! They don't even have a picture of him.

I have some sympathy for them as an East coast paper, probably sweating about deadline as those Western returns rolled in, but the whole thing was pretty much sewn up when Obama won Ohio and Pennsylvania. They could've mocked up the front with time to spare and just plugged in the last bit of AP copy they could snag.

 

Our li'l 38K increased the rack draw by 2K or so today and we've had to reload it quite a few well-traveled spots. Including the machine at the front door ... three times so far.

 

So this is the answer for newspapers then. Have the first African-American president elected, every day.

 

So did the Freep.

 

Yeah, when I got to work today at the freep, there was a line of about 100 people standing outside. I thought it was some sort of protest or who knows. I asked what they were doing and they were waiting for the additional papers to print so they could buy them! Lining up. For hours. The 50,000 additional copies finally came around 4:45 and they were selling like hotcakes (what does that mean, anyway?) They'll be distributed around the state tomorrow and we got some more freebies in the newsroom, too. They're also doing special prints and a T-shirt with the front page. It's amazing, the demand. Also, amazing, they didn't anticipate it. My friend in Boston said he looked all over and couldn't find Globes so they must have sold out, too.

 

The Chicago Tribune ended up printing 200,000 extra copies today. I never thought I'd see people lined up out the door to buy a newspaper.

 

I did not know that

 

We had no such demand in this red state.

 

We'd appreciate it if you'd pay closer attention.

 

A hopeful thought: People who typically buy newspapers became so depressed about the news on the front page they canceled their subscription.
Now, with Obama in the White House, they are looking forward to reading about him, every day. Subscriptions skyrocket. Jobs are added. Advertising rebounds!!!
Ah, who am I kidding. The fact that so many executives didn't anticipate the demand, or the possibility of the demand, says it all.

 

I am so kicking myself for not driving around to find a NYT at 6:15 this morning.