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La Opinion’s Publisher Monica Lozano on the Paper’s Recent Price Hike

Jumps from $0.25 TO $0.50.

Content

Portada:  What has the response of readers been to this increase ?

Lozano: Our readership grew 14% over the prior year to 538.500 daily readers and we have had compounded readership growth of close to 30% over the last 5 years. Paid daily circulation grew 3.5% Monday through Friday and 5% on Saturday's. While most English language newspapers are seeing a decline in circulation and readership, our audience is growing.  This reaction by readers is due to the excellence of our content. We bring news and information to readers that informs, educates and entertains. We provide high quality, unique and extremely relevant content whether it be about sports, lifestyle or hard news. We have the largest editorial staff of any Spanish language newspaper in the country and we attract the best talent. Readers want quality that is differentiated and speaks to them which is what La Opinion offers. We expect to continue to have the same, strong relationship with readers as we do today.

Portada:  What do advertisers say about the increase?

Lozano: Advertisers are looking to build a relationship with consumers. Our unique portfolio of products, such as La Opinion, La Opinion Contigo, La Opinion Digital, La VibraBienes Raices, Tu Casa, Autos y Mas,Vive Mejor and Vida y Estilo – coupled with the strength of our brand, allow advertisers to reach differentiated segments of the Hispanic community in an unparalleled way . We understand that advertisers are looking for unique ways to go to market and we offer a multi-market, multi-platform opportunity to engage with this audience. 

We have not raised the price of the newspaper to the consumer since 1979 – almost 30 years ago. Advertisers as well as readers understand the business reasons for bringing the price more in line with the cost of production. As long as we offer unique content, coupled with our brand and audience reach, we are confident advertisers will continue to get the results they expect from La Opinion

Portada:  What is the ratio between single copy sales and subscriptions for La Opinion?

Lozano: La Opinion is entirely single copy sales except for a small amount that goes to subscribers through the mail and the Newspapers In Education copies which go directly to schools. We are the second largest single copy newspaper in California and the fastest growing daily newspaper in America among papers with circulation over 50,000. The fact that over 120,000 people are making a daily, deliberate and conscious buying decision and look for their La Opinion in a rack or retail location makes them extremely loyal readers. They tend to spend more time with the paper and read more sections of the paper than English language newspaper readers.  We have over 16,000 points of sale between racks and retailers across the southland giving us more points of sale of any newspaper in the Southland.  

Portada:  Can you detail the changes in layout/content you will be doing over the next few months at La Opinion?

Lozano: We are always looking for ways to improve the product. We will be rolling out new sections and design elements meant to offer greater engagement with our audience and to leverage the enormous strength of our online networks. We will be sharing more details as the year progresses but there is one thing that stands out in our thinking about these opportunities. If you put the consumer at the center of what you do and look for ways to meet their informational needs, it inevitably requires you to bring innovation and creativity to your product mix.

Portada: What is the single copy price of New York’s Diario la Prensa and are they planning to increase it too?

Each of our Impremedia newspapers is deeply entrenched in their local market and makes business decisions independently of each other. El Diario has been $.50 for some time. They are also among the top 10 fastest growing newspapers in America and had readership growth of 8% last year. They have the great brand, tradition and relationship to the community that exemplifies our company.

Related Story: What Percentage of National Print Advertising do Impremedia Publications Get? (June ’07)

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