The Business of Journalism

Example of web ad rates for a small daily newspaper chain. Circulation of one of its largest papers, the Dalles Chronicle, is roughly 5,000. Here is Dalles’ print ad rates. The city of Dalles, Oregon has a population of 12,000, according to the 2000 census.

By my calculation, a 124 pixels x 124 pixels ad online for the Dalles paper costs $80/month. If one were to take that same ad size (so 1.72 column inches wide), it would equal $896/month.

Here’s the math: Convert pixels to inches: 72 pixels = 1 inch. 124/72 = 1.72 inches. Convert pixels to column inches: 1 column inch = 1.58 inches. 124 pixels = 1.58 inches x 1.72 inches = 2.71 column inches.

A 124 pixel online ad is equal to 2.71 column inch ad in print.

2.71 column inches x $11 per column inch (print rate) = $29.89/ad = 896.81/30 days of ad.

Of course, the longer one runs an ad, the more of the discount. But, the Dalles newspaper, which according to its numbers has 3 times the number of unique visitors/month than print subscribers, charges 10 times less for an online ad than a print ad.