Post-Dispatch Digital Subscription Price Increases 75 Percent

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is advertising a low, low rate of just $26 a year for new online subscribers. But if you already rely on the daily for your local news, get ready to pay up: Digital access for existing subscribers is increasing 75 percent.

The latest hike is part of a rapid series of price increase for online access. Two years ago, the Post-Dispatch hiked digital subscriptions from $9.99 to $19.99 a month. In recent weeks, the paper has quietly notified subscribers by email that the cost is going up again — this time to $34.97 a month.

Print subscribers aren't seeing nearly so high a percentage increase, but that's because they're already paying much more for the joy of having a newspaper delivered to their door. Subscribers tell the RFT in recent months they've been informed of an increase from $91/month to $116/month. That's a 27 percent increase.

Spokeswoman Tracy Rouch said the paper would have no comment on the price increase. But the paper has weathered a tough year after its parent company, Lee Enterprises, fended off a hostile takeover attempt from the vultures at Alden Global Capital. 

As Jack Grone reported in a recent piece for the Gateway Journalism Review, Lee's August earnings report contained some doom and gloom: "Total print revenue in the period was about $327 million, down $85 million vs. a year earlier. Digital revenue was up by about $25 million — a big increase, but not nearly enough to make up the gap. For the nine-month period Lee posted a net loss of $3.28 million, or 56 cents per basic share."

In St. Louis, Lee moved aggressively to slash its local prep sports coverage and, last February, also ordered the staff to take two weeks of unpaid vacation. But the union representing the paper's writers and ad staff voted to reject the offer — and apparently called Lee's bluff. While the Post-Dispatch has seen retirements and resignations in recent months, there have not been further layoffs to the paper's unionized workforce. (Yet.)

The news in nearby Carbondale, Illinois, has been far worse. In October, Lee sold the Southern Illinoisan to Paxton Media Group, which promptly laid off the entire unionized staff. And in many Lee markets, the Iowa-based chain is now offering delivery solely through the U.S. Postal Service, which may be the only entity less reliable than today's newspaper carriers.

So hey, there's reason to look on the bright side: At least in St. Louis, we still have actual journalists. And that's worth paying for.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story contained inaccurate information about layoffs at the Post-Dispatch. It is not true that the paper avoided layoffs after the union rejected its furlough orders. However, it has avoided laying off any union members.  We also referred incorrectly to Alden Global Capital. Apparently, it's no longer a hedge fund. Who knew?
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