Sun-Times Goes After Dollar Store Demographic

By Prescott Carlson in News on Nov 23, 2009 10:20PM

We don't know about you, but whenever we head out to the dollar store for some off-brand jerky, a 20 oz. Mountain Dew, and some expired baby aspirin, we often think, "Gee, some tabloid format news would be perfect right now," only to find out they didn't have any. So imagine our delight when it was announced that the Sun-Times is now available at 150 Dollar Tree and Dollar General stores across the Chicago area. The Sun-Times will also be selling its daily paper at 57 Walmart stores -- the discounter had previously only sold the Sunday edition.

The Sun-Times Media Group can certainly relate to those relegated to shopping at dollar stores -- the company filed for bankruptcy protection in March of this year after racking up over $800 million in debt. So clearly they're making a push to get the paper into the hands of as many people as possible to boost their sagging circulation numbers, which were recently down 12 percent over last year. The paper also still trails its rival, the Chicago Tribune, by a hefty margin, especially on Sundays.

There was no word on if the stores will carry the actual Sun-Times or a Chinese knockoff -- or if anybody could tell the difference.