The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s leadership did not believe it could cut its way to long-term sustainability by offering subscribers less while charging them more, so it sought creative ways to cut print and distribution expenses. The Little Rock-based paper conducted an experiment and offered several print alternatives to subscribers.
There was a clear winner: giving an iPad to each subscriber who continued at the existing rate. The Democrat-Gazette also invested in customer service staff to teach the subscribers how to get the most out of their iPads. The results were so impressive that the Democrat-Gazette soon extended them statewide, even to Little Rock.
