• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, September 23, 2024

Publishers have finally caught a break from the U.S. Postal Service.

There will be no rate increases in January for any market dominant products, including periodicals, marketing mail and First Class mail, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced on Friday. 

“Our strategies are working and projected inflation is declining,” said DeJoy. “Therefore, we will wait until at least July before proposing any increases for market dominant services.” 

Don’t get too choked up with gratitude. This follows years of “twice yearly rate increases totaling a cumulative 254% of inflation coupled with reduced service and unconstrained costs,” as the News Media Alliance put it last week. 

Still, the rate moratorium is better than we should have expected. But the fact remains that the USPS has been contributing to the growth of news deserts in the U.S. and that DeJoy has been the main culprit, along with the Postal Regulatory Commission. 

Meanwhile, Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) has proposed the Postmaster General Reform Act of 2024, which would require that Postmasters General be appointed by the President subject to Senate confirmation. The term would be for five years, renewable for another five. The PMG will be a voting member of the Postal Board of Governors. 

Let’s go for it.