Street level view of the new New York Times building (photo credit: pentagram.com)
Five months ago, we wrote about job cuts at the New York Times (a.k.a. “The Gray Lady“). This week, the New York Times announced their latest price increase. Once again, Times readers will pay more, but get less (that is, those readers who remain readers despite the price increase). And New York Times readers don’t even get their favorite comics. To our knowledge, the New York Times has never had a comics section.
The weekday editions will go from $1.25 to $1.50, a 20% increase. This increase comes just twelve months since the Times raised their cover price 25% for weekday editions, and about 15% for the Sunday edition. Prior to the last price increase, the Times was able to do without a price increase for eight years. Viewed another way, these two price increases in one year’s time equal a 50% increase in the cover price of the New York Times weekday editions. Our salary hasn’t increased 50% in the past year …has yours? Sadly, the New York Times print editions may just be a luxury we can no longer afford.
More frequent price increases for many consumer products is the norm these days, We believe it is further evidence of an economy in deep trouble. Newspapers are getting it from all sides… Advertising revenue is drying up, readership is down, and production costs are way up, particularly paper, electricity and fuel. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Internet and “new media” have turned out to be the newspaper industry’s worst nightmare. Newspapers are trying to embrace the brave new digital world, but it looks like they may be waging a loosing battle.
The squeeze has been evident to readers of the Times for quite a while now. The paper is shrinking. Their flagship product, the Sunday New York Times, is a shadow of it’s former self. Help wanted display advertising in the Sunday business section, once perhaps 75 or 100 pages every Sunday, has completely disappeared. Complete Sunday sections have disappeared. What’s left is an anemic Sunday edition that sells for an incredible $4.00 !
The voracious technology hounds at Routing By Rumor like to read the New York Times on Tuesdays, for the Science section, which has been contracting as well. We used to enjoy the Circuits section on Thursdays, but that section has disappeared, replaced by one to two pages of articles buried towards the back of the Thursday Business section. We suspect the Science section will go A.W.O.L shortly, as well.
All this bad news at the New York Times just happens to come at a time when people seeking their 15 minutes of fame have been flocking to the new building the Times has built, one block from New York City’s Times Square (named for the site of a previous building the New York Times’ occupied at One Times Square, during the early 1900’s). It seems people have an irresistible urge to climb up the outside of the their brand spanking new skyscraper, like so many spidermen. The fact that their new building sports what amounts to ladders on it’s exterior walls is too much for some adventure or publicity seekers to ignore.
The New York Times building under construction, 9/16/2006 (credit: Hu Totya/Wikipedia)
We propose a solution that could only happen in New York City, home to Coney Island’s famed Parachute Jump, the Empire State Building, Yankee Stadium, and the site of the deadliest attack in our nation’s history.
Why not sell permits to climbers who want to scale the New York Times building, sell tickets to the spectators, sell the television rights to one of the networks, and use all the money they earn to subsidize the print editions of the New York Times. They could even place corporate logos on each floor, similar to how ball parks plaster sponsor’s ads on every nook and cranny at the ball parks. This plan may be so successful, they will be able to give away the Times for free. Remember, you heard it hear first.
Of course, safety will be an important part of this plan. Climbers will need to have the proper climbing equipment, safety nets will need to be installed, and spotters will have to supervise the climbing. Perhaps some bleachers can be built along Eighth Avenue. A giant LCD screen in Times Square (like there aren’t enough of those already) could let people follow the climbers.
Alain Robert climbs the New York Times building on June 5, 2008 (photo credit: David Scull/New York Times)
Think this plan is crazy? Then you probably won’t think much of the latest attraction a few blocks away in New York’s Central Park. For the incredible price of $25, you can ride a helium balloon 300 feet above Central Park. Really! …And you thought the helium balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade were cool.
Only in New York.
– Routing By Rumor
Routing by Rumor 