Monday 7 January 2008

2008 Price Increases at the International Herald Tribune

Here's an impassioned letter that should be widely read at the International Herald Tribune.

I'm only going to quote part of it, but basically, the paper is just too damned expensive, and that's not this readers' main beef however. It is, that by extension, the paper is catering to the jet set upper crust, and that's not him. (NB See earlier postings on Luxury at the IHT).

Anyway, here's his farewell love letter:

"But the last straw was thrown at me a few days ago, when the owner of my regular newsstand told me that, starting tomorrow, the price of a single issue would increase from 2.20€ to 2.50€. This is the combined costs of Le Monde (usually too arrogant for me, but quite good crosswords, albeit in French) and of LibĂ© (the only left-leaning daily left in France)! This raise, together with the new weekend supplement, shows you’re increasingly catering to the upper crust and the jet set. I am not part of either, so it is time for us to part."
http://blog.le-miklos.eu/?p=453

Someone sell this man a subscription.

But he raises an interesting strategic question. Are the IHT intentionally going for the upper crust and the jet set intentionally and if Miklos has to be kicked aside so be it?

The idea of an intentional strategic decision at the IHT kind of makes this idea suspect but it is interesting.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I can afford a subscription (and then some), so thanks for your appeal on my behalf. But it is a matter of principle for me: I happen to think newspapers should be available for all, hence my decision. I prefer to put the monies saved that way in charities.

The same goes, incidentally, for the opera in Paris: its Bastille Opera house was built as a place for the people, but look at the cost of most tickets. It is only such places as the Theatre de la Ville that you can see good plays, see great choreographies and listen to interesting classical and world music at a very affordable price. This reflects in the composition of the variegated public which attends their performances: young and old, rarely if ever overdressed, from many social classes.