Sectional Newspaper Subscriptions

In the New York Times magazine last Sunday, I read an interesting article about how many newspapers in America are losing money and becoming bankrupt, partly because of decreasing readership. Today, I was again reading the Times, when I realized that I only read certain parts of the paper. For example, I always read the "Arts as well as Styles sections. I occasionally read the Business section, as well. If a headline on the front page catches my eye, then I read the story. I almost never read the Sports section.

That's when the magazine article I had read earlier gave me an idea. Newspapers could get more people to subscribe if they offered limited subscriptions, so that subscribers only recieve the sections that they choose. For example, one could subscribe to only the Arts section, or get everything except Arts. Each section could have a fixed price, and prices would be adjusted based on which and how many sections one chooses. Of course, everyone would recieve the Classifieds, so advertising would still have value.

In these times, many people might be discouraged from subscribing because of monetary reasons, but could relent because of decreased prices for limited subscriptions. This would help troubled newpapers stay afloat economically.