The Snooze slouches further on ads

Update, Dec. 7: It's gotten worse. An 11.5 percent adhole on Thursday, Dec. 6. AND, that was with cutting back to 36 pages, below the 38 that has been a previous Thursday low, and the 42 or so that's normal.

About zero Christmas-shopping related ads. Thin on inserts.

Update, Jan. 4, 2019: The slippage got worse. A 7.5 percent adhole on 36 pages on Christmas Eve.

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Last Thursday, Aug. 2, I saw something I am sure I've never seen in a Dallas Morning News before, because it almost certainly has never existed before.

That would be a non-Monday paper with an adhole below 20 percent. Well, no, even worse.

Below 15 percent.

Yep, the Snooze had a paper with a 13 percent ad run.

How do I count this?

Inserts, preprints, pay a separate rate, of course, and aren't traditionally counted.

I don't count house ads.

I don't count house ad filler on things like classy pages.

I do count obits as paid inches though.

And the Snooze had just 13 percent. On a Thursday.

Now, defenders will counter that August is a slow ad month.

Tis, in general. But, Thursday traditionally isn't as slow as Monday-Wednesday.

AND ....

They got the adhole as HIGH as 13 percent by running just 38 pages on a Thursday. Run 44 pages and you're at less than 11.5 percent.

And, it didn't get much better a week later. Again on 38 pages, the Snooze was at 18.5 percent Aug. 9.

Remember, the Belo parent has sold all TV stations, and all non-Dallas print properties as well. It did have the ethics to separate its digital marketing earlier this year.

But, wow.

They're going more and more digital first. An acquaintance of mine writes almost entirely digital now.

But, I don't know how well that will hold up.

They've bled market share. On politics, especially on endorsements, they remain with their old white core readers, not so much from Dallas itself now as the north burbs. On Dallas news itself, Jim Schutze, augmented more and more by Stephen Young and others, kicks their ass at the Observer, including Schutze's old running mate, Robert Wilonsky.