[cappak]

The Daily Sun produces an excellent product and provides an essential service to residents of The Villages. The increase in the cost of the physical newspaper is a result of overall increases in costs that cannot be offset by advertising revenue alone. Newspapers have to face the same increases in labor and benefits as do other businesses and in addition they are victimized by the increased costs of distribution and the increased costs of raw materials such as newsprint and ink which is petroleum based and I think has some silver in it as well.

One would think that a digital edition would solve many of these cost factors but there are some realities that need to be considered. First, one of the greatest costs for a newspaper is their editorial department and that cost does not go away whether your digital or print. Secondly, to generate a daily digital product requires a different skill set for staffers than what currently might exist in The Villages. This creates a management dilemma, do you layoff existing staff in favor of a digital product? My guess is the demographic profile of The Villages would lend itself to a print product which seems to be supported well by the local advertising community. One of the greatest challenges of newspapers around the country has been their inability to monetize their digital products. If the advertisers in The Daily Sun don't feel they will get adequate eyeballs, they will not support a robust digital edition.
The reality is that it's all about individual choice and most digital versions of a newspaper compliment a print edition, rather than replace it. There are several studies that have been done that show a reduction in cognitive retention when reading digital content versus print. The prediction that print editions of newspapers are going away is over-hyped. The industry is transitioning, but even colleges students today prefer obtaining their news from print newspapers 28 percent vs. Online 27 percent with TV being tops which explains why so many only know what comes from The Comedy Network.
Bottom line, The Daily Sun is a great value even at $.50!