Two and one half is the number of the week, $2.50 to be more precise. When you read it like this it seems nothing. Actually, $2.50 is not a big deal, but not when it’s an increase of 25%. You may ask and wonder what I am talking about. Well, read on.
The Gray Lady is taunting us!
Without a warning, at least for those readers who buy their copies on the street, the prestigious newspaper The New York Times decided to increase its price from $2.00 to $2.50. I thought the price hike was because of a special edition for the 3-day holiday. I had to look carefully for it to find a little table announcing the new decision. No explanation, no details, just that “the price has been increased for the paper’s Monday to Saturday edition from $2.00 to $2.50.” Well, at least nothing has changed for the famous Sunday edition.
Why this change? Everybody is aware about the significant crisis the papers have been going through because of the Internet. People don’t want to pay anymore for a daily newspaper since they can just read it instantly online or watch it on TV or listen to it on the radio. With the appearance of the free newspapers, the situation is intensifying. The competition is rough, but thanks to its perseverance, The New York Times has scraped by.
Therefore, I wonder: is it a way to push people to completely give up the paper for new electronic media? Or is it a new form of discrimination where only the wealthy can afford to read the news? Since I came to New York, it has been a routine to buy my newspaper before entering the subway station. I always try to have change when I am back at home at night, to reserve for the next day’s purchase. In the morning, I check my purse and thoroughly prepare the $2.00.
The New York Times has been a tool in my improvement with English since my professor gave me this wise advice, and I have always bought a copy. It has been a real pleasure. While I read The New York Times, I feel like I belong to the Big Apple. In the beginning, every single day, all the pages became tainted with unknown words I had underlined. But I am proud of my of the increasing clarity as the time progresses. Fewer and fewer words are underlined every day!
Back to pricing – I checked the website, but the raise isn’t even mentioned. Was it on purpose? I only found online promotions of 30% to 50%; meanwhile, the new price on the street stayed the same.
It’s kind of funny to imagine the meeting. The boss may have said, “Ok guys, let’s increase the price, and keep it secret. The readers will get their surprise when they buy the paper. We should add cameras to immortalize their reactions! It would certainly be majestic!”
Every reader has his habits. Some are addicted to the crosswords; you see them showing off on Monday, then they disappear smoothly by the end of the week! You definitely know the Wednesday friend who loves the business section, of course, although he is mostly interested in sports. I can continue with these anecdotes page by page, but I have no words to explain this change in price.
Why? What’s the goal? Well, it’s obviously to make money, but at the expense of our purses? I don’t need to be reminded of the economic situation in the US because I’m used to reading all the analysis in The New York Times? The culture is becoming more and more elitist, and you have to pay the highest price for it in order to have awareness of current events. Where is the Age of Enlightenment where the philosophers and wise thinkers ought against purposeful obscurity and ignorance?
The heart of their target audience, the 50 and older, men, belonging to the upper class, will not see a problem. But what about the rest of the population? Their future readers with rents and student loans to pay? Do they want to be responsible for the spread of unawareness? What else can I say but to end with a quote from Voltaire in Candide: “Let us cultivate our own gardens.” If The Times cannot provide the information we need, we shall seek it out for ourselves.
By Kenza Yarhfouri
