[js1138]

I cancelled my local paper five years ago, but they are showing up in my yard again.

[b4its2late]

Complimentary is the only way I'll receive our local gannett affiliated rag sheet too. Once that runs out, oh well.....

[smonk]

a newspaper will continue to deliver to you even after your money has expired. they use that time to try to convince you to renew. they don't tend to call a subscription in that status "complimentary", but that's the most sense I can make of your tale.

[Congressman Billybob]

The ad rates for all major newspapers are set based on "audited" circulation figures. Free subscriptions are supposed to be separately counted than paid subscriptions. A number of newspapers have had frauds in that area recently, and staffers have been fired over that.

You may have just observed a tiny corner of a fraud at the L.A. Times which could cause people to get fired, and ad rates to drop, at that "worthy" organization. LOL.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column: "Another Ignorant Actor Spouts Off"

[Brainhose]

Our local Liberal rag, the Nashua Smellagraph called me every Saturday morning at 7 AM.
After 4 weeks of trying to be nice and saying "No thank you, please don't call again", I had to ask "What will it take to get you to stop calling me?"
The answer was: "Subscribe to the paper and we'll stop calling".
Needless to say that didn't go over too well. An angry call to the subscription office with charges of harrasment and extortion ended all calls.
I wouldn't even use that rag for toilet paper, I'd be afraid of catching some terrible disease.

[new cruelty]

And then what happened?

Did you continue to accept the paper? Or did you tell them to stop sending it?

The NYTimes starting sending me a complimentary subscription. I sent it back and told them to never again darken my doorstep.

[Jack Deth]

Priceless! I wonder, how much of their reported paid subscription base is "complementary"? Wouldn't that make a good story for an intrepid leftwing consumer reporter?

About the same as the slowly diing Washington Post, stayout.

The Washington Times has been murdering "Pravda On The Potomac" for years in subscription, store and machine sales.

The only way The Post can even keep in the market is by giving papers away to employees and others. Then counting those as sales.

Jack.

[Sonny M]

I'm not sure if its ongoing, but I believe there was a lawsuit filed over this.

Something to do with newspapers basically giving away their papers and counting it in circulation figures which was then quoted to advertisers.