A link to the mlive/AANews website, customized to search on Ann Arbor: http://www.mlive.com/ann-arbor/
I don’t think the reporter’s speculation about the student paper, the Michigan Daily, undermining the city’s paper is on target. The AANews is dying because the city is oriented towards radio and Internet, and people had watched the paper go downhill. There is a monthly in town (an entirely different media product, I know), the Ann Arbor Observer, that is widely read and enjoyed. It does seem as if the A2 News could have saved itself if it had worked harder to earn respect and been less generic and more connected with the community.
Please share widely!
Last fiscal year was 2009, from 7/1/08 to 6/30/09. You will note that includes a hefty chunk of the last election season. And every campaign I’ve ever worked on required political ads to be cash up front – no billing, no bankruptcy worries, etc. While national and even statewide races use the papers less and less, local political ads were probably the best source of revenue for small dailies except for legal notices.
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p>FY 10 is from 7/1/09 to 6/30/10. Most political ads will be after that fiscal year ends. The merger and loss of retail chains who advertise (Circuit City, car dealerships, etc.) will only really hit in FY10.
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p>At a certain level, blaming the content or editorial stance is irrelevant – it’s the financial model that’s busted.