This is not meant to be critical of the Lancaster Newspapers, but we note that the Intelligencer Journal New Era’s newsstand price is 75 cents and the Lancaster Sunday News’ is $2.00.
In contrast, the New York Times sells for $2.50 daily and $6.00 on Sunday.
Obviously, the Times also generates far greater advertising revenue given its citywide and national circulation.
The Times competes with USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Its incredible advantage is the depth of its daily coverage and its ongoing investigative reporting. It also benefits from a very popular website which generates considerable advertising revenue.
Obviously the publisher has made profitability second to public service, because the Times has no real direct competition, especially now that the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Los Angeles Times have reverted to largely local coverage.
Whether liberal or conservative, we all owe a lot to the Times and its stockholders. It is the national teacher and watchdog.
By the way, we realize our heading should say “you get what you pay for.” But we agree with Winston Churchill who remarked that ending a sentence with a preposition is “something for which I will not put.”
