| April 2007 | |
Do Not Mail could devastate newsprint
Probably like a large number of newspaper folks, I have not paid a lot of attention to the Do Not Mail (DNM) issue that has been floating around for some time. It has become much more of a hot issue in recent months, and just a month ago reared its ugly head in Austin during the legislative session. I guess because I’m not as aggressive as I should be when it comes to sample mailings and that sort of thing, I thought the DNM subject affected only those highly-successful, future-thinking newspaper folks who did do sampling, etc. Well, I got a real lesson in trickle down economics while attending the National Newspaper Association ’s Governmental Affairs Conference in Washington, D.C. last month. DNM is knocking on our doors and it’s not a light tap we’re hearing. You can choose to look through your door peep-hole, shrug your shoulders and go plop back down on the couch of comfort with the remote control, or you can open the door and face it head-on, as only a few people in a few states have so far. DNM has been targeted by environmentalists and others who are trying to get legislation in every state to prevent newspapers, among others, from mailing samples without the prior consent of the receiver. They ’re calling it spamming of a paper variety and they want it stopped. DNM is the brother of the Do Not Call legislation that swept the country a few years back. Lots of people signed up on that one and with it went newspapers’ ability to solicit subscribers by phone — at least to the degree they were used to. DNM means a lot more to us than I ever thought it would. It’s an ugly thing that has potentially far-reaching affects, and if we don’t pay attention to it and what is happening here, then we’re going to be in a lot of trouble. DNM does not only affect our industry in regards to the loss of sampling, but it goes much deeper into our pockets by way of newsprint prices, it can very well affect the postal rates of our products or the quality of the service provided by the Postal Service. DNM is gaining in popularity. There have been 15 bills introduced in 13 states. Next year it is believed that number will double. DNM is expected to severely impact the U.S. Postal Service. It is estimated the Postal Service is going to lose an estimated $14 billion in revenue if the DNM becomes law across the land. That means the Postal Service is going to have to cut services. No way around it. And if the Postal Service cuts service, you can almost bet the periodicals class will be one of those that are targeted not only for lesser-quality service, but higher rates to offset those billions in losses. DNM also will impair the newsprint industry. It has been determined that 45 percent of all printed material is distributed through the postal system. The newsprint industry, too, just like the Postal Service, will have to make up those heavy losses in increased prices. And, of course, the newspaper industry will bear the brunt of those increases. It was revealed that there are 13 million tons of newsprint produced every year. That figures out to 85 pounds for every person in the country. This is down 20 percent from 1980, and the newsprint industry can hardly stand continued drops in usage and remain a partner in the newspaper business. Newsprint accounts for 13 percent of the total paper consumption in the United States and the reduction of use by newspapers and others who use paper goods will have a dramatic impact on the newsprint industry before trickling on down to us. A ho-hum attitude is not something we need to take on this issue. At least a couple of states have fought back the attempt to get legislation passed, but there is something of a ground-swell in support of the move now, especially in the wake of so much environmental interest that has suddenly surfaced. |
|
