The coup de grace was the loss of mandated "legal notices" postings, one of several highly-distributed and also lucrative forms of advertising (the other being general classified noticies) which had long supported print news.
Both parts of that description were significant: a distributed advertiser base gave little leverage to any one advertiser to bully or threaten the paper, and high revenues relative to costs meant that the aggregate revenues (even if individual notice prices were modest) were high.
This is also typical of many forms of publishing and distribution. For example, railroads and steamship lines were long subsidised by mail delivery. (The "RMS" in "RMS Titanic" comes from "Royal Mail Ship", noting the vessel's status as an official carrier of the British Royal Post.)
For US railroads, one critical revenue loss occurred after the introduction of Zone Instant Postal Codes, better known as ZIP Codes, in the 1960s, which eliminated the role of dedicated mail-sorting cars on passenger lines, in which mail was classified and sorted en route. With ZIP Codes, sorting occurred at bulk (and stationary) mail-handling facilities, with capabilities increasing tremendously in subsequent years.
Aircraft of course also started carrying First Class mail shortly after commercial flight premiered, in the 1910s. Email and fax have cut into that traffic, though courier, parcel delivery, and air cargo are stepping into the void.
Both parts of that description were significant: a distributed advertiser base gave little leverage to any one advertiser to bully or threaten the paper, and high revenues relative to costs meant that the aggregate revenues (even if individual notice prices were modest) were high.
This is also typical of many forms of publishing and distribution. For example, railroads and steamship lines were long subsidised by mail delivery. (The "RMS" in "RMS Titanic" comes from "Royal Mail Ship", noting the vessel's status as an official carrier of the British Royal Post.)
For US railroads, one critical revenue loss occurred after the introduction of Zone Instant Postal Codes, better known as ZIP Codes, in the 1960s, which eliminated the role of dedicated mail-sorting cars on passenger lines, in which mail was classified and sorted en route. With ZIP Codes, sorting occurred at bulk (and stationary) mail-handling facilities, with capabilities increasing tremendously in subsequent years.
Aircraft of course also started carrying First Class mail shortly after commercial flight premiered, in the 1910s. Email and fax have cut into that traffic, though courier, parcel delivery, and air cargo are stepping into the void.