UPDATE: The Boston Herald picked up on this entry. Not suprisingly, the Globe isn't talking, at least not to the Herald. Here's the link:
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=110504
It Doesn't Matter If You Don't Live Anywhere Near Beantown, Buy Us Anyway!
Desperate times, desperate measures.
I'm not accustomed to hearing from telemarketers given that I've been on Do Not Call lists from the get-go, even with companies with whom I already do business and who would otherwise be exempt.
So, imagine our surprise during dinner when my wife picked up the phone and The New York Times was calling. Seems it wasn't just a hearty thank-you for being loyal subscribers despite our periodic bitching and moaning about late delivery.
Now, for just 88 cents, we had the chance to get its sister paper the Boston Globe every Sunday. Which might be enticing were it not for the fact that we live over a three-hour drive from Boston in New York's northern suburbs.
Now, of course, the Globe -- despite recent cutbacks -- still has much to recommend it, not least of which is one of the best sports sections, if not the best, to spread out with on Sunday. But home delivery?
We have a difficult-enough time getting through the Times, along with that newfangled Saturday Wall Street Journal without more recycling to deal with.
The guy on the phone tried to push it by telling us it even came with all the circulars, as if the I needed to know what dresses were on special at Filene's.
Of course, as newspapers continue to leak readers, getting creative to find new eyeballs is not only desirable but essential. But does the Globe need to travel this far south for circulation salvation? How much money can they be making on my 88 cents? Or, is that not the point?
Boosting numbers for the sake of boosting numbers doesn't impress advertisers, especially when some of those new numbers might come from the homes of Yankee fans.
3 comments:
With all due respect, you clearly haven't been reading the Boston Globe sports section the past couple years if you still think it is among the best in the country.
Admittedly, most of my Globe reading has been on line as of late. However, even in decline, the Globe's sports section is eons better than what the Times attempts. You'd think there be some osmosis when it came to quality by being affiliated. You'd be wrong.
Old-ish news, but Filene's is gone. So there's pretty much NO reason for reading the [paper] Globe outside of the Hub.
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