The technological advances made in the television and internet fields in the past two decades have rendered the older style of newspapers nearly obsolete. Despite garnering record audience sizes, newspaper companies have continued to lose more and more money by the year. In fact, many newspapers shut down as a result of the damage done in the recession to their finances.
A primary reason as to why newspapers have done so badly in relation to more modern forms of media news reporting is its relative high prices. Why both bother paying 25 cents for a newspaper when one can find all the latest news updated online? One way marketers have tried to solve this problem is by cutting prices. In Hong Kong, the Standard is an English language newspaper once sold for 6 HKD, but is now handed out for free near bus stops, subway stations and other hot spots. In a densely populated and eternally busy city like Hong Kong, newspapers are an easy way to pass the time, especially at work, where computers are monitored by employers and televisions are unavailable. As such, it provides all the advantages of a newspaper, with quality, organized journalism and editorial pieces, whilst having such a low pricing penetration strategy to cater to white collar workers with lower incomes or lower willingness to pay for something like newspapers.
Since it became a free newspaper, viewership has increased five fold. With increased circulation, it has been able attract more advertisers. A radical pricing strategy seems to the way forward for the newspaper industry.