Newspaper terminology - knowledge is power
Newspaper advertising is expensive. Not only does it cost a pretty penny to advertise in the classifieds, but many major newspapers actually charge a higher rate for employment classifieds than any other. Why? Because everyone needs employees, and like any other industry newspapers charge what the market will bear.
It is, therefore, vital that the advertiser - you, the recruiter or employer - acquire the knowledge to 'get the best bang for your buck.' The first leg of acquiring this knowledge is to learn to 'talk the lingo.' To realize the best buy, you have to understand what the advertising representative, and that paper's rate card, really are saying to you.
There are two newspaper formats - broadsheet and tabloid. The typical metropolitan newspaper is a broadsheet - each newsprint page folded at the middle, with a page width of 6 columns and a depth of 21 ½ inches. A tabloid is smaller. When we hear the word tabloid we picture sleaze. The words aren't synonymous. Yes, publications such as the Star, and National Enquirer are tabloids but only because they are tabloid size - a usual 3-5 columns wide by only 13 inches deep. They typically open from the right. For purposes of sizing we will mostly talk about broadsheet sizes and rates.
There are two types of newspaper advertising - ROP (also known as Retail) and Classified. When we talk about Classifieds we think about the old term the 'want ads.' And that is pretty accurate. Classifieds consist of newspaper pages that are organized by classifications - i.e., types of advertising - and primarily include automotive, services, rental, real estate, employment and private party merchandise. ROP stands for 'run of paper' and essentially means any advertising that is not classified. The term Retail (for ROP) is derived from the fact that this is where most retailers advertise. Classified and ROP advertising differ in measurement and rate as well as location, as we will discuss in a later column.
The most prevalent term you will hear as justification for the fee demanded for publication of your advertising message is a newspaper's circulation. Even free publications will often discuss their 'circulation' figures. So, what is circulation? The true definition is the number of paid newspapers delivered on any given publication day. Free newspapers do not have circulation - they have distribution, i.e., the number of papers disseminated somewhere - to home or business subscriber, newsstand, grocery store, library, etc., paid or free. The difference is important, if the fact that someone has actually requested and paid for the opportunity to peruse the publication matters to you.
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