Additional Miami Herald papers to go on sale

Nov 05, 2008 (The Miami Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- NYT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Everyone says people don't read newspapers anymore.

But that wasn't the case Wednesday -- at least not if you look at sold-out newsstands across the nation as readers scrambled to collect souvenirs of a historic presidential election.

Several newspapers across the country reported running out of copies Wednesday morning, including the New York Times and The Miami Herald. Demand reached its highest peak since the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, said Terry Whitney, The Miami Herald's vice president of circulation.

Mike Kelly, 44, searched for a copy of The Miami Herald in at least three stores in unincorporated Fort Lauderdale. Everywhere he went, the newspaper was sold out.

"It's a big story that Obama won," Kelly said. "The paper was going to be a collector's item. But I can't find a newspaper in the whole town."

Copies of the paper also flew off the newsstands at Florida International University, where students like T'wana Skelton rushed to get their hands on what some consider a souvenir. "It's historic," Skelton said, smiling as she held the paper in her hands.

The Herald tried to plan ahead for post-election day demand. The Herald enacted a frequency day, meaning delivering the daily paper to about 54,000 nondaily subscribers. Single copies increased by 15 percent. Altogether, 251,000 newspapers were distributed Wednesday morning. Still, most distribution locations didn't have enough newspapers to go around.

In the afternoon, The Herald fired up its presses again to deliver an additional 8,500 copies to various Miami-Dade and Broward Publix supermarkets and 7-Eleven stores.

"We were sold out throughout the entire market: Miami, Miami-Dade and Broward County," Whitney said. Demand "is much higher than what we had anticipated."

Readers can also purchase a copy of Wednesday's front page by clicking on the "Buy Photo" button in the attached photo gallery.

At the Sun Sentinel, net sales increased by more than 50 percent over normal Wednesday single-copy sales, communications manager Jenifer Sacks said. "We've sold out, and I've already used my reserve pile," customer service representative Linda Dankovich said.

After seeing a huge readership increase last week because of Tampa Bay Rays coverage, the St. Peterburg Times prepared itself for Wednesday. The newspaper printed an additional 30,000 copies ahead of time -- an increase of more than 50 percent of its single-copy sales.

"We only do an increase of this magnitude if the Pope dies or we win the World Series," said St. Petersburg's Jerry Hill, director of audience development and new business. "This is making a huge impact."

The New York Times printed 35 percent more papers, expecting newsstands to sell out completely -- and they did, as of 11 a.m., spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said.

By noon, production of 50,000 more copies for the New York City area had begun.

In the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, the Washington Post sold every copy of the 156,000 printed before noon -- despite preparing for the massive demand by increasing copies by 30 percent, according to circulation figures. Editors responded by creating 250,000 copies of a special commemorative edition to hit D.C. newsstands Wednesday afternoon.

On the West Coast, the Los Angeles Times printed an overrun of 40,000 copies Tuesday night. By 11 a.m. Wednesday, management planned to print an additional 42,000 copies.

"We're even selling newspapers at both entrances to the building, which is interesting in L.A. because this is just an urban sprawl," communications director Nancy Sullivan said.

Restarting the presses midday is unusual. Wednesday's staggering demand for newspapers may be a rare phenomenon, but the day's events indicate people still place value in print, The Poynter Institute's media business analyst Rick Edmonds said.

"There are certain big, historic events that people like to have memorialized for themselves by keeping a copy of the print editions," Edmonds said. "Although newspaper paid circulation is sliding, there are an awful lot of people out there who know where a newspaper is, and if they really want it, they'll get it."

To see more of The Miami Herald or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.herald.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Miami Herald Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index