• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 19, 2003

Ad Pages When the Sun Don't Shine

James T. Madore, Staff Writer for Newsday.com, reports that officials said The New York Sun is promising to deliver a minimum number of readers or provide free ads. The move, called a "rate base guarantee," is standard practice in the magazine industry but unheard of in daily newspapers, analysts said. It comes as the Sun's circulation is growing, thanks in part to cutting the newsstand price, but its advertising remains minuscule.

On a typical day, 16 percent of the Sun's 18 pages are devoted to ads. That's sharply lower than most dailies, where advertising occupies 60 percent or more of the pages, experts said.

If the Sun fails to meet this guarantee, advertisers would receive free placements based on the circulation shortfall. To be eligible, businesses must buy at least six display ads in the three-month period.

Such incentives "often are used in the magazine industry where there are dynamic changes in circulation and you see many start-up publications ... We saw a parallel to ourselves," said William Kummel, chief operating officer. Begun a year ago during a severe advertising drought, Kummel reported that the Sun sold an average of 30,569 copies per day during January-March, primarily in Manhattan.

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