• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 3, 2007

Newspapers Use a Billion Dollars Worth of Postage

According to a national survey by the Newspaper Association of America, the nation's daily newspapers are spending nearly $1 billion on postage for services from the U.S. Postal Service. Newspapers spent more than $972 million in 2006 compared with $901 million in 2004 and $700 million in 2002.

John F. Sturm, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, said "Along with door-to-door delivery, on-street boxes, specialty publications and digital transmission, mail is one of many different platforms newspapers use to guarantee an audience to their advertising customers. Collectively, daily newspapers are a leading customer of the U.S. Postal Service and many of our member newspapers are the largest mailers in their local markets."

The report notes that newspapers use the mail to deliver newspapers and other publications to subscribers and advertising mail products (including preprints) to non-subscribers.  Newspapers historically have relied on First-Class mail because a large majority of subscriber and advertising invoices and remittance go through that distribution channel.

The NAA survey found that the greatest growth in newspaper postage spending came in Standard Mail, where daily newspapers spent nearly $785 million in 2006 compared with $713 million in 2004.  Newspapers use standard mail to deliver total market coverage advertising mail products to non-subscribers in local markets.  Daily newspapers also use standard mail for new-subscriber solicitations and renewals. A growing number of newspapers provide direct mail services for local and national advertisers.

The national survey found that 47% of the standard mail products mailed by daily newspapers are entered at local post offices called Destination Delivery Units. These products are equally distributed through both high-density and saturation rates.  The findings reinforce the importance of local entry and the partnership newspapers have with local postal delivery units to meet the needs of a newspaper's advertising customers, concludes the report.

Learn more from the NAA here.