Newspapers appear to be growing in popularity once again in the United States - but not because of their editorial content.
People are buying them, and even stealing them, because they contain bundles of money-off retailing coupons.
It's part of the so-called "extreme couponing" craze now sweeping across America as publishers insert ever-increasing numbers of discount coupons inside their publications, especially in Sunday issues.
Some discount-seeking consumers are stealing papers from street vending racks or from driveways. There have been cases of people digging through people's trash cans looking for discarded newspapers.
Shoppers are using dozens ? sometimes hundreds ? of coupons at a time to reduce their grocery bills.
The phenomenon has been fuelled, at least in part, by a TV series launched in April this year called Extreme Couponing. It features families stockpiling reams of coupons and filling up trolley loads of groceries while buying items worth hundreds of dollars for just a few dollars.
The show also features shoppers wiping out entire grocery shelves and building additions to their homes to store the surplus goods.
Police and newspaper executives have reported a swathe of extraordinary real-life examples of extreme couponing. They include:
* An Arkansas woman arrested for stealing 185 copies of the Springdale Morning News.
* A 37-year-old Texas woman arrested for stealing coupons from a rack of newspapers in front of a fast-food restaurant.
* An Idaho woman seen pilfering all the coupon ads from a newspaper rack after purchasing a single copy.
* An Alabama paper, The Cullman Times, reported a 30% rise in thefts of its papers and ran a front-page story last month offering a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest.
TV producers defend their show, arguing that it helps viewers save money during tough economic times. But we don't condone thefts, says executive producer Matt Sharp.
And there is, of course, an upside for beleaguered newspaper publishers because of increased sales.
"We're fine with the coupon craze and the show," says Jim Puryear, head of circulation for the Raleigh News & Observer in North Carolina. "It's a win-win for newspapers."
Source: USA Today
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2011/aug/18/us-press-publishing-newspapers
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