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Newspaper Book Review Sections Threatened

Newspaper publishers are facing a scarcity of ads across nearly all categories, but the lack of ads from book publishers in recent years has caused what some see as an alarming trend: the closing of the stand-alone book review section.

When the Los Angeles Times folds its book review into its opinions section later this spring, there will remain only five separate book review sections in major metropolitan newspapers. That number is down from an estimated 10 to 12 a decade ago, writes the Wall Street Journal.

Book publishers see more return on their marketing investment by paying for premium placement within chain bookstores. While those bookstores can charge as much as $1 per book for prime real estate, such as on a table at the entrance or in a display of new titles, publishers like the fact that shoppers are in the stores with money in their pockets, looking to make an immediate purchase.

When publishers do advertise in a book review section, they say it is only an effective tactic when done as part of a larger marketing effort.

Book publishers are challenged in a couple of ways when it comes to advertising: they must advertise for each book separately, as with movie studios, but they don’t have the deep pockets of those studios. And, they can’t engage in effective brand building, as few readers purchase books based on the publisher.

Of the remaining book review sections - in the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, San Diego Union-Tribune and The New York Times - The New York Times Book Review stands out as an exception.

In 2006, The Times’ ad revenue from books was up almost 10 percent, according to Todd Haskell, vp, business development, for the Times. The book review is a vibrant part of the Sunday newspaper and they don’t plan to back off an inch, Haskell says.

At the San Francisco Chronicle, however, book section editor Oscar Villalon says the section constantly has to justify its existence, because it doesn’t bring in ads. The situation is the same at the San Diego Union-Tribune, where the book review editor says, “We rarely get ads from publishers,” and at the Washington Post, whose Book World editor says, “Overall, it’s pretty bad. It’s very frustrating.”