Bad News for the Local Newspapers

Big News for the Department Store World and Bad News for Local Newspapers.  Federated Department Stores, the parent company of Macy's, who recently bought our local Famous Barr (and closed Lord and Taylor), has decided to end local newspaper spending.

It's a huge blow, similar to auto dealers deciding to cut out their ad spending.  Consider that twice as many people check a dealer's website as check out their newspaper ads.

What does this mean for Post-Dispatch?  Losing a big account is one thing. Losing a cornerstone of your ads in the newspapers is another.  For those familiar with Famous Barr's sales practices, Tuesday through Sunday were considered Sales Days.  There were always sales going on, and they were all in the paper.

AdAge has the scoop.

Local newspapers, beware: Sept. 9 is just around the corner.

That day will mark the start of a drain of as much as $425 million in spending by the medium's largest advertiser, Federated Department Stores, and the end of the symbiotic relationship between homegrown department-store brands and the newspapers they've advertised in for more than a century.

What does the Post-Dispatch have to say?  We'll be tracking the story, that's for sure.