Reply #45: How to kick a local newspaper right in the nuts

[nichomachus]

Don't scream and yell -- that just solidifies their belief that they're getting noticed and making a difference. Really.

Don't pick out the biggest advertiser and try to boycott them. Their ad buys usually come from some corporate office somewhere and they could give a shit less. IOW, don't try to make a difference with Target or SavOn Drugs.

Pick a local business who buys a lot of ad space -- this is usually going to be "Honest Jack" the car dealer or "Babson Furniture" -- you know the type, local guys who rely on the patronage of a large portion of the public.

Get a bunch of people -- 25-50 should do the trick, more if you can -- start calling the local business and ask to talk to the boss. Get as close to him as you can. Tell him that he advertises in the newspaper and the newspaper is biased and unfair and that you and no one in your family is going to shop there. About 10 minutes later have someone make the same call. And again and again and again.

I can guarantee you that by mid-afternoon the guy is going to be freaking out. Before close of business, he will be on the phone threatening the publisher of the paper. The publisher will be freaking out because he is evaluated by corporate on how much money he makes -- nothing else. Corporate doesn't care what the paper runs -- only how much money they send back to the mother ship.

The next day, pick another merchant, and repeat the process. After about the third day, I can guarantee you that the publisher will be shitting bricks. Most newspapers these days are on the brink of starvation and when their biggest local advertisers are calling and screaming, you just know the publisher is going to be screaming. And most car dealers and furniture stores are up against the wall, so 20 or 25 calls from angry potential customers are going to be noticed and the owners will be on the phone with the paper.

I spent a good part of my life in community newspapers, watching the publisher twist and dance to keep local advertisers happy. He would have given them a lewinsky if it meant keeping their business -- and that's when things were going pretty good.