Times, P-I will raise newsstand price

The newsstand price of weekday and Saturday editions of The Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer will increase by 25 cents effective Sept. 1, The Seattle Times Co. said Monday.

The new price in the Seattle area will be 75 cents.

Times spokeswoman Corey Digiacinto attributed the move to growing newsprint and fuel costs. The Times Co. handles business operations for both its flagship paper and The Hearst Corp.'s P-I under a 25-year-old joint-operating agreement.

The newsstand price will not change for the Sunday edition, which carries the mastheads of both papers but is produced primarily by The Times, Digiacinto said. She said The Times Co. was not announcing any price increases for home-delivered daily or Sunday subscriptions.

While both Seattle dailies are privately held and do not disclose details of their finances, both have said they are losing money. Metropolitan newspapers nationwide are hurting because advertising revenue — particularly classified advertising — has dropped.

So far this year, The Times Co. has:

• Cut the work force at its flagship paper by about 7 percent through layoffs and buyouts.

• Put its three daily newspapers and other holdings in Maine up for sale.

• Announced about half its remaining real estate in Seattle's fast-growing South Lake Union neighborhood is for sale.

Circulation revenue typically accounts for about 20 percent of newspapers' total revenue. The rest comes mostly from advertising.