Media
FAIRFAX FREEBIES: Left-wing newspaper in crisis resorts to giving itself away for what it’s worth
There is nothing so tragic or unseemly as a newspaper organisation going through the throes of trying to prevent its own, inevitable demise.
Just as our friends at The Age have seen the future – and realised they’re not in it – their fraternal (sorry Catherine Deveny to use such sexist language) colleagues north of the Murray are fighting in a desperate bid to stay alive, not with discounts, or price increases, but, of all things, bacon and eggs.
A Sydney VEXNEWS investigator has sent us this flyer picked up at, presumably, breakfast with some bruvvers, only to discover that if they had lashed out a full fiver instead of just the $3 for a cappuccino, they could have had a free SMH to amuse themselves with of a morning. In addition to fruit salad and juice or a hot cooked breakfast or egg and bacon roll. Yum.
Soon enough they’ll have John B. Fairfax and his butler Jeeves down there offering to shine shoes and his good lady equipped with a bucket and sponge to clean your car, if you only agree to buy their newspaper in decline.
As we’ve discussed it’s very important for them to artificially inflate circulation numbers for the newspaper so they can continue to persuade advertisers that their money isn’t completely wasted, despite understandable suspicions to the contrary.
The offer is FREE*, mind you. Noting that *Conditions apply. We can only wonder what conditions would apply to enable one to claim a free SMH. We’d like to suggest some appropriate conditions, like:
- Must live within 2 bus stops of CBD;
- Offer may only be used in conjunction with cafe latte or macchiato;
- Must have university degree, preferably in humanities;
- Must be called “Rebecca, Emily or Alice” or alternatively “Tristan, Jeremy or Edward”; and
- Cannot under any circumstances be a member or supporter of a Rugby League club.
We invite VEXNEWS readers to tip us off with any evidence of similar deals being done by The Age in Melbourne. But then, so desperate is The Age to shift copies, we’re half expecting they’ll come out with a deal more like “Free perpetual newspaper subscription for all carbon based life forms.”
Discussion
11 comments for “FAIRFAX FREEBIES: Left-wing newspaper in crisis resorts to giving itself away for what it’s worth”
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my cat is 19 and has sadly developed kidney disease, which causes her to urinate often
she could do with one of those free subscriptions
I love egg and bacon rolls, can I have that without the Sydney Morning Herald ?
I was door knocked a few days ago by an Indian man who wanted to give me The Age for free during the week if I subscribed to the weekend editions.
I said no before confirming the details so I dont now what period of time this was for.
Herald Sun does the same thing at coffee stores, purchase a $3 coffee get a paper. Where’s the article about that?
It’s only a matter of time before the newspaper bailout starts here as it has in the U.S. with a bill introduced overnight seeking to rescue faltering newspapers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE52N67F20090324
Good point Ruff, but I must admit I’ve never seen this. I’m interested in this practice regardless of who is doing it.
Popular or monopoly newspapers as a rule don’t seem to do it at all. Or at least very often.
I’ve seen The Aged sold at Starbucks for 70cents, dumped by the dozens near student housign in Caulfield and given away on the Portsea-Queenscliff ferry, the National Gallery and at Southern Cross station. It’s also given away at gyms and countless other places.
Are people reading it? Probably not.
I’m all for getting freebies, my concern is the circulation fraud impact on advertisers. They should really break down honestly how many of their papers are being sold or home-delivered at normal prices and how many are given away at deep discounts or nothing.
That’s the issue. Not who is doing it.
Well spotted anon, but I cannot really imagine that proposal getting up.
Perhaps the ABC will buy the Age and subsidise it after it transitions into loss, expected some time in 2010/11 according to what we hear.
This particular coffee shop was close to Southbank where the Hun’s HQ is, which might explain it. And the number of times you see papers of all persuasions handed out at sponsored events certainly makes you wonder whether advertisers are getting bang for their buck. These are interesting questions.
If it’s the one downstairs in their own building, I’ve not noticed them doing that in relatively recent times. I’m down there probably once a month or so.
But your point is well made, we’ll keep our eyes peeled for any giveaways and encourage all to send reports/pics of big piles of newspapers being given out at deep discount or for nothing…
Please let us know on editor (at) vexnews.com or 0415 99 33 26 and we’ll be onto it like a rat up a drain-pipe.
Yeah, shock, horror. A giveaway! Not a bad deal for the punter when you think about it. While the Age might be giving away papers, at least they’re not doing a Sunday Tele and giving away morality and the fundamentals of very basic journalism. Lighten up for Christ’s sake. In the wake of one of the lowest acts of “journalism” I have ever seen in Australian newspapers, you choose to attack the age for a promotion? I’ll take the free breakfast, but I’ll be rooted before I take anything News Ltd has to offer again. And let’s remember, if trends continue, not all papers will survive, and I’d rather cop a free breakfast with The Age than a pile of s*** from the Tele.
Oh your concern isn’t for advertisers you silly wanker; you’re just stewing your little bitter and twisted brain over The Age and Fairfax yet again. Do you get any pleasure out of life? You never have a critical word to say on News Ltd deals.