• Advertising Age, Monday, February 9, 2009 9:42 AM

Postmaster General John E. Potter has requested Congress for the flexibility to offer five days a week of mail service. No one knows what day the Postal Service will drop, but depending on the day, it will hurt newspapers, magazines, direct marketers or coupon mailers.

Newspapers, looking to expand the use of mail delivery to reach suburban and rural subscribers, could lose no matter what day is dropped. For business magazines, "the two days that would not be acceptable are Monday and Saturday," says David Strauss, Washington counsel for American Business Media.

Media trade groups suggest that Potter's plea was intended to raise the profile of the Postal Service's financial plight. The request is seen as a "blatant plea" for Congress to give the USPS more flexibility, they say. But other observers say the Postal Service has a limited number of options under present legislation and is overwhelmed by economic forces. "They are not crying wolf," says one.

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