The Trump Effect

NEWS FLASH: The Sun is not going out of business, nor is it in financial trouble. What we’re doing, as we’ve always done, is staying ahead of the curve: “right-sizing” to adapt to the changing landscape of publishing and politics.

Since January, the Sun has experimented with reducing its print schedule from five days a week to three — Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The change was partly in response to the impact of President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods — an outcome we had feared but had hoped to avoid. On Monday we were notified of a 25 percent increase in our printing costs; therefore, we expect this three-day schedule to continue indefinitely.

Our growing online and social media presence also played a role in the decision. We now can easily reach readers on non-print days (Wednesdays and Fridays), and will post two breaking news stories on those days. (For delivery to your mailbox, sign up for our daily email at conwaydailysun.com to stay in the loop.)

In 2017, similar tariffs led to a sharp rise in newsprint prices, forcing many newspapers across the country to scale back or shut down. At the time, the Sun printed in-house at its North Conway facility. However, because of our aging press and the passing of longtime press manager Frank Haddy in 2022, we transitioned to outsourcing our printing to a modern press in Portland. Of course, printing there is more expensive which compounds the additional costs caused by the tariffs.

It’s now been a month since we changed the print schedule, and the results have exceeded expectations. Essentially, we’ve consolidated our local coverage and ads into three newsy editions. We believe this shift — of going to fewer, bigger editions with more content — benefits both our readers and advertisers.

Demand for ad space on Tuesday and Thursday print editions has increased — allowing us to increase the page count and distribute more copies of those editions. Reaching more people helps advertisers. It goes without saying that readers like papers with more content. 

The new line up is that Tuesdays will feature Health and Sports Extra. Thursday editions will include Weekenders and Business, and Saturdays will continue to have the cover story and all the other features you’ve come to enjoy.

Ultimately, this move makes financial sense. Incrementally increasing the number of pages and circulation with our new schedule is far less costly than producing complete print editions. We’ll invest the savings into expanding our news coverage, which, after all, is our core mission — whether it appears in print or online.

We call that a win-win.