Each year the newspapers serving the major metropolitan markets of North America get into skibiz in a bigger way — and with very good reason. There is plenty of ski-Related advertising to be sold. Not just to ski areas, but to ski retailers also, and airlines advertising destination resorts, and travel agencies promoting ski trips.
To a large extent, these newspapers can reach a ski audience that is relatively untouched by the ski publications. These are the newer skiers who have just become hooked, or even people who have not skied yet, but have decided to take the plunge into the ski world.
These are the same people who frequent the consumer shows, and they get their written exosure to the sport through the ski features and special ski sections of the newspapers.
Many newspapers are doing an outstanding job of promoting the sport. There are free ski schools, newspaper-sponsored ski trips for kids and ski shows. In creating skiers and nurturing their early ski interests, these newspapers outshine any other medium of communication. And that automatically makes them pretty interesting as vehicles for ski area advertising.
In the following section we tabulate some vital statistics on some 40 key North American newspapers. Inclusion or exclusion of a newspaper does not represent endorsement — or lack of it — by SAM.
Major newspapers list a record number of special ski sections and winter travel tabloids for 1973-74 season
| Newspaper | Morning, Evening, etc. | Circulation | Travel & Resort Editor | Travel & Resort Ad. Mgr. | Ski writer or editor | Carries snow reports | Special ski sections & winter travel promotions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Boston Globe Boston, Mass. 02107 (617) 288-8000 | M/E/Sun | 621,202 Sun 468,916 Dy. | Bill Davis | Harold Delaney | Henry Moore | Yes | Sun Nov. 4 — $2.45/li Sun Nov. 25 & Wed (M) Nov. 28 — Tab. $3.00/li |
| Schenectady Gazette 332 State St. Schenectady, N.Y. 12301 (518) 372-4141 | M | 65,000 | Jack Hume | Charles Bennett | Jack Hume | Yes | Wintersports Tabloid Fri. Dec. 15 — Reg. rates — .32c/li — Close Dec. 5 |
| The Hartford Times 10 Prospect St. Hartford, Conn. 06101 (203) 249-8211 | E/Sun | c. 134,000 | Barnett Laschever | Thomas J. Kelley | Bill Clede | Yes | Sun Dec. 9 — Close Dec. 4 — .44c/li Sun Jan. 6 — Close Jan. 1 — .44c/li Sun Feb. 10 — Close Feb. 5 — .44c/li |
| The Hartford Courant 285 Broad Street Hartford, Conn. 06115 (203) 249-6411 | M/Sun | 219,365 Sun 170,459 Dy. | John Massaro | John Krikorian | Bruce Berlet | Yes | Tab Sun Nov. 14 — close prev. Tue Tab Sun Jan. 13 — close prev. Tue Tab Sun Feb. 10 — close prev. Tue |
| New Haven Register & Journal Courier 367 Orange St. New Haven, Conn. (203) 562-1121 | M/E/Sa Sun | 160,000 Sun 140,000 Dy. | John Roberts | Pat Codeanne | Hobs Moyer | Yes | Winter sect. Sun Feb 3 — .62c/li Winter sect. Wed. Feb 6 — .62c/li |
| New York Daily News 220 E. 42nd St. New York, N.Y. 10017 (212) MU 2-1234 | M/Sun | 3½ mil. | Leonard Scandur | Robert Staats | Jerry Kenney | Yes | Early November |
| New York Times 229 W. 43rd Street New York, N.Y. 10036 (212) 556-1234 | M/Sun | 1,448,000 Sun 856,000 Dy. | William Honan | Salvatore Piropato | Michael Strauss | Yes | Ski Sect. Sun Nov. 11 — Close Nov. 1 |
| Philadelphia Daily News 400 N. Broad Street Philadelphia, Pa. 19101 (215) 563-5200 | E | 260,000 | Ted Koch | Gil Whiting | Ben Callaway | Yes | Winter Travel sect. Wed. Nov. 7 Ski sect. each Thursday starting Dec. 13 |
| Baltimore Sunpapers 501 N. Calvert St. Baltimore, Md. 21203 (301) 539-7744 | M/E/Sun | 384,565 Dy. 356,108 Sun | Frederick Weisheit | C. Warren Martin | William Tanton | Yes | Skiing gets major role in Winter Travel section, Sun Dec. 2. Reg. resort rate of $1.45/li. — Close Nov. 28. |
| The Washington Post 1150 15th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 223-6000 | M/Sun | 710,148 Sun 535,016 Dy. | Morris D. Rosenberg | Jeff Grizzard | Judith Axler Turner | Yes | Special ski tab section Sun Nov. 25. Timed for consumer ski show. Space deadline Oct. 19. |
| Richmond Times-Dispatch 333 E. Grace St. Richmond, Va., (804) 649-6000 also | M/Sun | 199,300 Sun 142,000 Dy. | Clarke Bustard | Guy Cumby | Max Ailor | Yes | |
| Richmond News Leader (same address & phone) | E | 121,000 | Sylvia Costen | Guy Cumby | Steve Clark | Yes | |
| Chicago Today 441 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, Ill. 60611 (312) 222-4321 | E | 441,175 | Lewis J. West | Yes | Special consumer show highlight feature Oct., 25. Ski and winter sports features every succeeding Thursday through March. | ||
| Chicago Tribune 435 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, Ill. 60611 (312) 222-3232 | M/Sun | 1,265,000 Sun 702,000 Dy. | Kermit Holt | Lewis J. West | Jim Fitzgerald | Yes | Special tabloid section Sun Oct. 21, timed for consumer ski show. Also ski features every Friday from Oct. 26 through March. |
| The Milwaukee Journal Milwaukee, Wis. 53201 (414) 224-2000 also | E/Sun | 543,000 Sun 350,000 Dy. | Bill Hibbard | Charles Champion | Bill Hibbard | Yes | Sun Sept. 30 in support of its Winterfun Show. |
| Milwaukee Sentinel (same address & phone) | M | 180,000 | Charles D. Collins | Charles Champion | Jim Slocum | Yes | Special section Wed. Oct. 3 in support of Winterfun Show. |
| Beacon Journal 44 E. Exchange St. Akron, Ohio, 44328 (216) 375-8571 | E/Sun | 174,000 | Ed Schoenleb | Dave Roberts | No | Tab section “Winter Travel & Sports” Sun Nov. 18. — Closes Nov. 9. Reg. Sunday rates of .76c/li. | |
| Omaha World-Herald World-Herald Square Omaha, Neb. 68102 (402) 341-0300 | M/E/Sun | 284,076 Sun 249,750 Dy. | Gerald Wade | Paul Fry | Gerald Wade | No | Winter Resort tab section Nov. 5 |
| Dallas Morning News Communications Center Dallas, Tex. 75222 (214) 747-4611 | M/Sun | 312,000 | Mrs. Jean Simmons | Herb Keathley | Mrs. Jean Simmons | Yes | Annual ski tab Sun Oct. 28. — Closes Oct. 22. — Reg. rate of .95c/li. |
| Houston Chronicle 801 Texas Houston, Texas 77002 (713) 220-7171 | E/Sun | 359,638 Sun 297,482 Dy. | Virgil Cobb | No | |||
| The Houston Post 4747 Southwest Freeway Houston, Texas 77001 (713) 621-7000 | M | 300,000 | C. W. Skipper | Jack Meyers | No | Ski section Oct. 22, timed with Travel Fair on skiing same date at Astroworld Hotel. Closes Oct. 4. | |
| San Francisco Chronicle Fifth & Mission Streets San Francisco, Calif. (415) 421-1111 | M/Sun | 655,649 Sun 457,588 Dy. | Georgia Hesse | Gene DeForrest | Bob Lochner | Yes | |
| Oakland Tribune 13th & Franklin Sts. Oakland, Calif. 94612 (415) 645-2000 | E/Sun | 224,000 Sun 191,000 Dy. | Morton Cathro | William Lavine | Christopher Stier | Yes | Sun Nov. 11. Deadline Thu. Nov. 1. Reg. rates apply. |
| Oregon Journal 1320 S. W. Broadway Portland, Ore. 97201 (503) 222-5511 | E/Sat | 130,000 | Rolla J. Crick | Roger Bailey | Tom McAllister | Yes | Skiing featured in fall travel section, Tue. Nov. 6. Closes Fri. Oct. 26 |
| The Ottawa Journal 365 Laurier Ave. West Ottawa, Ont., Canada (613) 563-3731 | E | 85,000 | Al Werthner | Al Werthner | Eddie MacCabe | Yes | |
| The Ottawa Citizen P. O. Box 5020 Ottawa, Ont. K2C 3M4 (613) 829-9100 | E/Sat | 107,096 Sat 92,943 Dy. | Richard Statham | Bob Littlemore | Jack Koffman | Yes | Winter tab. Tue. Dec. 11. — Closes Dec. 4. |
| The Gazette 1000 St. Antoine St. Montreal, Que., Canada (514) 861-1111 | M/Sat | 155,725 Sat 134,000 Dy. | Kendel Windeyer | Bill Henry | Chris Allen | Yes | Sat. Dec. 8 — deadline Dec. 5 — Rate .75c/li. Sat. Jan. 12 — deadline Jan. 9 — Rate .75c/li. |
| The Montreal Star 245 St. James St. Montreal, Que., Canada (514) 282-2741 | E/Sat | 220,000 | Ted Parks | David Wilson | Fred Roberts | Yes | Sat. Dec. 8 and Sat. Jan. 12. Reg. rates apply. Closing 1 wk. prior to publication. |
| La Presse 7 St. James Street Montreal, Que., Canada | E/Sat | 250,000 | Michel Tremblay | Alan Jarrold | Jacques Vanasse | Yes | Every Thursday, Oct. 4 – Mar. 28 Closing prev. Mon. Ntl. rate $1.20/li. — Ski areas $1.00/li. |
The following newspapers in important markets did not respond to SAM’s questionnaire on special ski sections, personnel, etc. We list them with other vital information for reference purposes.
| Newspaper | Circulation (approx) |
|---|---|
| Atlanta Constitution & Journal 72 Marietta St. N.W. Atlanta, Ga. 30303 (404) 572-5193 | M&E 473,000 Sun. 579,000 |
| The Detroit News 615 Lafayette Blvd. Detroit, Mich. 48231 (313) 222-2331 | Eve. 652,000 Sun. 833,000 |
| Plain Dealer 1801 Superior Ave. N.E. Dleveland, Oh. 44114 (216) 523-4500 | M — 410,600 Sun. — 517,000 |
| Star/Times 1729 Grand Kansas City, Mo. 64108 (816) 421-1200 | M&E 647,000 Sun 398,700 |
| Denver Post Box 1709 Denver, Colo. 80201 (303) 297-1421 | Eve. 258,000 Sun. 366,000 |
| Los Angeles Times Times-Mirror Sq., Los Angeles, Calif. 90053 (213) 629-3261 | Morn. 1,005,000 Sun. 1,185,000 |
| The Toronto Star 1 Yonge St., Toronto, Ont. Canada (416) 367-2000 | M-F 507,000 Sat 705,000 |
| Salt Lake Tribune Box 838 Salt Lake City, Ut. 84110 (801) 524-2786 | M — 109,800 Sun — 183,700 |
| Seattle Times Fairview Ave. N. & John Seattle, Wa. 98111 (206) 622-0300 | Eve. 230,000 Sun. 289,000 |
| Vancouver Sun & Province 2250 Granville St. Vancouver 9, B.C. Canada (604) 732-2513 | Morn. 114,000 Eve. 235,000 |
