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Tribune’s blue boxes disappearing in Chicago

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Blue metal boxes stacked with copies of the Chicago Tribune have nearly disappeared from Chicago’s streetscape.

Not a single Tribune box could be spotted in a sample survey of those placed under the elevated tracks in the Loop. And the only JCDecaux multirack holders that offer the paper are mainly on heavily trafficked Michigan Avenue, according to a website that tracks those outlets. Boxes bearing the Chicago Sun-Times are fading, too, but there are still thousands.

The disappearing boxes are another sign of the distressed newspaper industry’s effort to evolve as advertisers and readers flee print products for digital alternatives. Newspaper publishers nationwide that can’t justify the cost of printing and distribution for slipping coin-operated sales are abandoning the decades-old practice.

“They are pulling the boxes,” said John Murray, vice president of audience development at the News Media Alliance (formerly known as the Newspaper Association of America).

I can’t remember the last time I bought a print newspaper. Can you?

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:56 am

Comments

They’re still in stores and Starbucks’ in the city, though I’ve noticed that they’ve been delivering fewer piles (the Trib, at least). I still see people reading them on the train and in coffee shops.

Comment by NIU Grad Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 10:59 am
I bought one a year ago when I needed some padding for a box I was mailing.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:00 am
I buy the Tribune everyday and have the SJ-R delivered. I buy the New York Times probably twice a week. I love to read the newspaper, but then I grew up reading the newspaper. My father, who passed away two months ago, passed along his love of reading the newspaper to me. He would get the Wall Street Journal delivered also, in addition to buying the New York Times. He read at least 3 newspapers a day.

Comment by L.A. Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:00 am
although I really don’t know why I have the SJ-R delivered anymore. It takes me about 5-7 mins to read it. 5-7 mins of my day that I’m never going to get back.

Comment by L.A. Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:02 am
Every Sunday I buy the Tribune and waste money on the Pantagraph. I enjoy spending Sunday morning reading the paper and drinking coffee.

Comment by Spliff Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:03 am
I have the Daily Herald delivered. I just like having the paper in my hands instead of watching a screen. I do enough of that already. Call me old fashioned I guess.

Comment by Big Joe Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:03 am
just remember that the vast majority of the stories people read on the Internet are produced by newspapers.

the collapse of the newspaper industry, as a consequence of the Internet, is a tragedy for a democratic society.

Comment by jim Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:05 am
I bought a newspaper on Tuesday.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:06 am
===the collapse of the newspaper industry, as a consequence of the Internet===

The industry’s biggest mistake was throwing in free or very low-cost web ads with a print buy. Advertisers grew accustomed to that and when print crashed they couldn’t charge enough online.

They need to suck it up, refocus their sales forces and raise their online ad prices and stop giving away so much money to Google to run their ads.

Maybe it won’t work. But local companies are always looking for ways to reach local eyeballs and are willing to pay for it.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:08 am
I buy the Sun-Times every morning to read over my lunch hour, although I don’t know why I bother. It seems like it’s always the same stories every day: crime, police brutality, CPS, etc. Plus, it’s unwieldy with too many ads and inserts. Old habits are hard to break, I guess.

Comment by ??? Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:08 am
Not from a street box, but I get the Trib delivered every day, and the NYT Thursday-Sunday.

I find that I read more in the print paper, because my peripheral vision notices stories that I’d miss online.

Comment by JoanP Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:08 am
“I can’t remember the last time I bought a print newspaper. Can you?”

Yeah.

Good ol’ paper and ink is still my preferred format for reading text.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:09 am
I still got the Sunday Trib out of habit and wanting the paper to read over coffee and a lazy breakfast until John Kass finally pushed me over the edge a few weeks ago. It was the end of an era, because I grew up in the NYC area with a family that loved the Sunday paper ritual. I’ve read papers for years, and have always lived in cities with great ones. But this digital economy is killing them.

Comment by Archiesmom Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:10 am
Don’t they have to rent space from the City of Chicago to place the boxes in the public right of way? Be interesting if the city produced a summary of box locations over time.

Comment by NoGifts Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:12 am
When I lived in a smaller community (”smaller” being 40-50 thousand), I would support my local newspaper by buying a copy and spending some time reading it. I found that it helped my mind stay on track having something to read through at the same time every day.

Comment by NIU Grad Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:12 am
Still get the Sunday paper delivered. I buy it from a box or stand when getting on a plane or train.

Comment by Been There Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:13 am
Every week - a habit I enjoy.

Comment by Skeptical Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:15 am
The last time I bought a paper newspaper was the day the SJ-R went from $1.50 on Sundays (already marginal value for the dollar) to $3.00.

Comment by Skeptic Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:15 am
Full subcriber to 7 day a week Tribune. Digital is great for when away, but have always liked print for extras, BUT every six months they send me a bill for $295 and I call and they reduce it immediately to $195.Getting old for sure.

Comment by retired guy Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:15 am
I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t even pick up the free newspapers in hotel lobbies. I simply prefer to read it on my iPad.

Remember reading several years ago that the NYT could GIVE every hard paper subscriber a free Kindle reader rather than the cost of delivering a hard copy, and they would recoup that investment in less than 2 years.

Comment by Downstate Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:19 am
bought one this morning. buy one every morning.

Comment by Saluki Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:20 am
I don’t think I’ve ever bought a news paper from a street box. (Maybe from a coffe shop or grocery store but not a street box)

Comment by Mr.Black Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:20 am
I read Capitolfax, SunTimes, LA Times, NY Times, Washingtonpost,Ottawa Times, Aurora Beacon News,CNN on line every day. Years ago my wife got sick and tired of having newspapers stacked up. Interestingly enough, when I mailed a check to the Ottawa Times, they refunded it. The don’t charge for online. Some how, this amazingly good little paper makes it with their surveys and online advertizing. They make the Trib look like fish wrap.

Comment by wondering Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:22 am
I get the Sunday SJR which is good for about 10 minutes. The Sudoku takes a couple of days. Local paper is a 5 minute read max. The email Tribune comes every day and I read maybe 5 stories, the rest is already online. Like others, I grew up with paper newspapers and they were great. Always had the Trib, SunTimes and Daily news in our house while growing up in the suburbs.

Comment by zatoichi Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:23 am
I can’t eat without a sports page open in front of me and I don’t want greasy fingerprints on my tablet.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:24 am
I pay for the pdf versions and read four papers every day.

Comment by dr. reason a, goodwin Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:25 am
We still have the SJR delivered to our house but for how much longer I’m not sure.

The only thing I still like about the SHR is Bernie’s work and the coverage of local sports and they just lost one of the best newspaper sports editors, Jim Ruppert to retirement and already the quality of their local sports coverage is going downhill fast which means our subscription to the SJR will likely end at the conclusion of this billing cycle.

Comment by Give Me A Break Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:26 am
Still do on occasion, but rarely.

That was a decades long habit: Sun-Times on the train in, Trib on the train home.

But when daily newsstand prices started approaching the price of a dive-bar beer, it was time to re-prioritize.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:29 am
Still take the SJ-R because my wife doesn’t like to read it online.

Comment by Boat captain Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:33 am
Almost everyday. Varies between SJR,NYT,WSJ. Its a generational thing. Still like the feel of paper and books.But can’t recall the last time I bought one from a box.

Comment by Anotherretiree Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:35 am
Used to get the 5-day SJ-R delivered. Now will pick up a Sunday paper occasionally.

Let the subscription expire back in the winter, though they kept delivering it. I eventually decided to renew. When I did, I was billed $50 or so as a ‘courtesy fee’ (for what they delivered after the subscription expired). I was ticked-off so I didn’t renew.

Comment by Scott217 Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:35 am
I’ll buy the paper before boarding a flight.

Comment by Stones Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:35 am
Of the SJR keeps shrinking like it has been, it will just disappear!

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:37 am
Who has 8 quarters in their pocket to purchase a copy of the daily Tribune from a box? The boxes themselves are obsolete based on the price of newspapers these days.

I buy the Tribune and Sun Times maybe twice a week these days. Easier is the online subscription which allows a greater access to stories and features than appear in the print edition.

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:43 am
Sometimes, they give out free WSJ on flights which I happily read.
I bought the daily Sun-Times to pass the time when I didn’t have lunch plans. I used to have the Sunday Trib delivered but dumped it when they stopped so many features. I don’t recall the last time I bought one but it’s been at least 5 yrs.

Comment by Belle Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:44 am
Partially because of business, at least 4 real newspapers every day, and a couple more locals during the week. Crosswords are important too. A day ago, I bought 2 Sun Times because the driveway edition of the Sports edition came out before the Cubs came back in the ninth inning. Picked up the updated version at a 7-11 with a cup of joe. I’ll miss them when they go away. I really will. Bookmarked 8 pubs too on the lap top.

Comment by A guy Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:45 am
An online newspaper is not a complete substitute for a print newspaper, just like an e-book is not a complete substitute for a printed book. The reading experience of the two is different, and both should remain viable options (as should land line phones, which are not fully fungible with cell phones).

Comment by Quiet Sage Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:48 am
=they just lost one of the best newspaper sports editors, Jim Ruppert to retirement=. Jim was a year ahead of me in grade and high schools, as well as at Bradley. Hopefully we will do a blog somewhere. As for my, have the Trib delivered daily. Their delivery is spotty. Prefer a real paper to read on the train.

Comment by Bogey Golfer Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:49 am
He not “we”. Could not write like him.

Comment by Bogey Golfer Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:50 am
===Partially because of business,===

Fishmonger?
Bird cage sales?
Papier mache artist?

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:18 pm
I get the wretched SJ-R every day for its strong suit, the obituaries. Fortunately, I bolster my noggin with the Chicago Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times, all in hard copy. I guess that makes me a news junkie. At least one of my kids is as well, but only on-line. It seems that most young people get their news on-line, a practice I find to be limiting relative to paper. Maybe it is just me, but reading a news paper on-line feels akin to skimming a headline service. Besides, it is difficult to maneuver an I-Phone over breakfast. And, electronic devises don’t soak up coffee spills nearly as well as a real newspaper.

Comment by Keyser Soze Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:21 pm
Still have the SJ-R delivered for the obits, crossword and suduko plus Mrs RNUG doesn’t do online anything. Usually read it between 4 and 6 am depending on when I wake up. Pick up the IT weekly, again for the crossword and suduko, plus the community events calendar. Occasionally read a USA Today when I’m traveling and the hotel has complimentary copies. Get various national paper summaries emailed daily.

Been a long time since I bought one out of a box; easier to pick up at the gas station or drug store if I really want one.

Comment by RNUG Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:27 pm
Sun-Times had a Groupon a while back- $10 for a year of Sunday delivery. Can’t say no to that.

Comment by chi Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:28 pm
I still pick up a Reader every week. From a box right outside of work.

Comment by Cheryl44 Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:29 pm
Daily subscriber to Chicago Tribune and Wall Street Journal. And typically I by the New York Times when I fly. But I realize that I am not typical anymore. This lack of interest also applies to the old school TV news shows. World is changing.

Comment by NeverPoliticallyCorrect Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:34 pm
I subscribe to 7 day delivery in Urbana for the News-Gazette and the New York Times. Used to buy the Tribune on campus but got sick of how thin it had become.

Comment by The Old Professor Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:35 pm
===- 47th Ward - Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:18 pm:

===Partially because of business,===

Fishmonger?
Bird cage sales?
Papier mache artist?===

Got a client in the pest control business. I’ll have to get him up to the 47th ward.

Comment by A guy Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:35 pm
buy them all the time. purchase one of the Chicago dailies when some article of interest may be in it, otherwise have one delivered at home. I buy a few local papers when the mood strikes. when I am out of town I buy a newspaper. I love the look of an article in print. it is more than words.

Comment by Amalia Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:40 pm
I get the Wall Street Journal delivered, and I feel good putting it in the recycling five of the seven days a week.

The Saturday edition is worth it.

Comment by CD Sorensen Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:43 pm
I get the WSJ delivered but read it mostly online. Husband needs the hard copy to put in the bottom of the charcoal thing to light the BBQ.

Husband does work for the Reader (Key Ingredient Food feature; he does the videos) but since his stuff is only online, I see it there.

Comment by 32nd Ward Roscoe Village Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:45 pm
It’s probably been about 20 years, when I was in college.

Comment by Politix Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 12:56 pm
It must be very unnerving to work in a dying industry. Oh wait, never mind.

Comment by Higer Ed Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:05 pm
I cant stand reading online. I much prefer paper, but can’t spend $2 a day.

Comment by Groucho Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:07 pm
Let’s see. I watch a live event on my TV/tablet/phone and then a so called reporter tells me what happened. Sometimes they lie and even lie as they’re showing me the truth. Besides Rich; all I need to know about politics is right here.

Comment by weltschmerz Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:22 pm
I get the SJR at home, which I augment every morning with my phone so I can keep up with news that happened after 4 p.m. the previous day.

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:22 pm
Reading a newspaper for news is like using a road map to find your way home.

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:44 pm
Reading a newspaper for news is like having a milkman deliver your cottage cheese.

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:46 pm
Reading a newspaper for news is like buying a phonograph player using S and H Green Stamps.

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:49 pm
I buy print newspaper either for the crossword puzzle or to use as grill starter

Comment by Checkers Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 1:53 pm
Every Sunday, buy a trib at the dollar store, take out the coupons, and toss the rest in the recycling in!

Comment by Person 8 Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:00 pm
I buy a newspaper most days of the week, in good weather. I have a number of places a mile away I walk to to get it. I am really paying a reason to make the two mile walk

Comment by Bigtwich Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:06 pm
If the Trib & ST are going to stop the honor boxes…why do we have to keep all these other freebee boxes that clutter our neighborhood???
More people should read the newspaper period.

Comment by scott aster Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:18 pm
I get 2 papers daily

Comment by Allen D Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:46 pm
I used to read the morning Sun Times on the way to work. The Tribune at work ( I worked there) and then the Tribune Green Streak on the way home.

Now, the only time I pick up the Tribune is at work to do the crossword and soduku puzzles. Only good thing about the paper.

Comment by HRC2016 Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:54 pm
Today for the train ride.

Comment by walker Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:56 pm
I’m not sure it counts since it is weekly rather than daily, but I receive Crains every week.
Other than CapFax, it is my primary source for local news.
Even if I don’t read the stories, flipping through it to see what the editors find important has real value.

Comment by Gooner Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 2:57 pm
I get the SJ-R & the WSJ delivered to the front porch…the Tribune on weekends, too. That 5-7 minutes for the SJ-R coincides with a certain time of the morning…

Comment by Joe Schmoe Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 3:23 pm
I’m 72 and have been reading a St. Louis paper every day since I was in my 30s. The online version is free with my print subscription, but their website is so slow and the screen refreshes so often that I don’t have the patience to finish an article online - it’s even more irritating than the horrible wraparound ads in the print edition. But I can’t seem to get by without a paper to read every day, and having it spread out in my hands so I can look at whatever I want without having to scroll or wait for a page to reload is satisfying.

Comment by aufjunk Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 3:24 pm
A month ago my subscription to the only daily paper I was receiving expired and I did not renew. Honestly, I do not miss it. The “news” was always basically at least 24 hours or more old. I get my news from this site and probably 8 or 9 online papers or sources.

I have not subscribed to either of my counties weekly papers for 4 years.

I can get the obits daily ( and I guess I am getting to that age where I look at those ) and the police reports from other online sources.

Hate to say it, but I can do without the actual paper.

Comment by illini Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 3:51 pm
Always buy one when I hop on a plane, and daily in what-ever town I’m visiting. But locally, rarely.

Bought a subscription for an elderly relative that lives in Madison Wisconsin (they claim they have home delivery up there) and got such a runaround from their CSR in the Philippines I almost cancelled it.

Comment by 312 Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 4:09 pm
It’s too easy to read news on a tablet. Subscribe to the electronic editions of NY Times, Wash Post, and Chgo. Trib. I guess I’m a news junkie.

I’m likely to cancel the Trib and subscribe to the Sun-Times, since the Trib insulted their readership by endorsing Gary Johnson. Should have done the right thing by endorsing HRC.

Comment by Truth be told Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 4:23 pm
–I’m likely to cancel the Trib and subscribe to the Sun-Times, since the Trib insulted their readership by endorsing Gary Johnson. Should have done the right thing by endorsing HRC. –

Didn’t you hear? The tronclodytes discovered she’s outside the “mainstream.” That’s why they endorsed that mighty rolling river Johnson, polling at 5% nationally.

See how that works? Facts plus logic plus coherence equals a persuasive argument.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 4:41 pm
I do the digital SJR, News-Gazoo, and Trib daily, though oddly I get a paper Trib also delivered that goes to recycling 80% of the time. Gave up on the WSJ due to the wacky editorial page.
Also get Crain’s but that’s about to end because the mail delivery is terrible. Then you add Automotive News, 3 monthly auto “buff books” and several Kindle books per month, and-I’m glad I’m retired!

Comment by Arthur Andersen Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 4:55 pm
I use to subscribe to the Tribune years ago. Cancelled when they became like the rest of the MSM. I would like a paper/reporting that is objective by giving me the who, when, why, where, and how so I can come to my own conclusion. When they start doing what they should be doing I will reconsider. In the mean time I will save my money.

Comment by ejjp Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 5:41 pm
I buy a Sunday Trib about once a month -

I get my news on line - never watch MSM news - very weak and they have lost most objectivity

Comment by cannon649 Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 8:42 pm
Didn’t there used to be newsstands in the loop?

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 13, 16 @ 11:32 pm
Last time I paid for a copy of the Tribune? Easy. It was right after I read the first column by John Kass.

Comment by Springfieldish Friday, Oct 14, 16 @ 8:33 am