Report: Inky Tried Charging $60,000 to Run Elie Wiesel Ad

The New York Observer reports that the Philadelphia Inquirer tried charging $60,000 to run an ad from the Jewish Values Network — the same money the New York Times would charge for a similar ad, only with many fewer readers to see it.

The official referee of newspaper circulation, Audited Media, lists the print circulation of the Times at 1,254,506 and the Inquirer at 362,752. With less than 1/3 the audience, it is perhaps surprising that the Inky thought it could command an equal page rate. (It should be noted that the Times rate of $60,000 for a full page is only for its “standby rate,” which means they won’t guarantee that it runs on the particular requested day, only that it runs.)

Confronted with this disparity, the Inquirer agreed to cut its price to $50,000 — still a way higher price-per-reader than the Times, a source with knowledge of the Jewish Values Network’s ad-buying practices told the Observer. The media firm countered with $30,000 — half the money for about a quarter as many readers. The Inquirer declined.

Which, ouch.

For what it’s worth, the Wiesel ad condemns Hamas for its rocket attacks on Israel; the London Times refused to run it for exceeding “community standards.”