https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/03/goodbye-newspapers-on-kindle-amazon-stops-selling-newspaper-and-magazine-subscriptions/ [foundation] Fellowships Reports Lab Storyboard Nieman Foundation at Harvard HOME About Fuego Subscribe Archives Foundation Reports Storyboard LATEST STORY Amazon calls it quits on newspaper and magazine subscriptions for Kindle and print Business Models Mobile & Apps Audience & Social Aggregation & Discovery Reporting & Production [lab-logo-c] ABOUT [ ] [Search] SUBSCRIBE * Business Models * Mobile & Apps * Audience & Social * Aggregation & Discovery * Reporting & Production * Translations * Fuego March 16, 2023, 11:06 a.m. Mobile & Apps [kindle-newsstand-700x456] Amazon calls it quits on newspaper and magazine subscriptions for Kindle and print One Redditor: "I actually enjoy reading my local newspaper when it's on the Kindle as opposed to the paper's poorly designed website and frequently broken app." By Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen March 16, 2023, 11:06 a.m. March 16, 2023, 11:06 a.m. It doesn't matter whether they're for your Kindle or in print -- starting this week, Amazon is no longer selling newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Publishers were alerted to the coming change in December, and subscribers were notified last week. (If you have any of these subscriptions, you can see the timing for how they'll be phased out; you won't lose money.) RELATED ARTICLE In two years, Amazon moved from journalism savior to afterthought; is today the day the trend reverses? Tim Carmody March 22, 2011 The Kindle was once seen as a possible savior for digital journalism (though Nieman Lab was always skeptical). In 2009, then-New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger appeared on stage with Jeff Bezos to introduce the larger-screened Kindle DX, saying, "We've known for more than a decade that one day an e-reader product would offer the same satisfying experience as the reading of a printed newspaper." From 2011 until 2020, people who subscribed to the Times on the Kindle got free access to NYTimes.com, too. Amazon hasn't shared its exact reason for the change (the company's statement to publishers is here), but one obvious explanation is that relatively few people are buying these subscriptions and it doesn't make financial sense to continue to support them. Instead, Amazon wants publishers to add their content to its $9.99/month digital subscription program, Kindle Unlimited, which includes a bunch of magazines and access to one newspaper that I saw -- USA TODAY. Want more? Subscribe to our newsletter here and have Nieman Lab's daily look at the changing world of digital journalism sent straight to your inbox. Anyway, while this all feels very 2011, news publishers in particular should check out some of the comments on last week's Reddit thread, where customers talk about why they liked reading newspapers on Kindle, and why they're sorry to lose the subscriptions -- and it still has to do with the "satisfying reading experience" Sulzberger talked about more than a decade ago. Very disappointing. I had only recently discovered that I actually enjoy reading my local newspaper when it's on the Kindle as opposed to the paper's poorly designed website and frequently broken app. In addition to the sheer legibility/readability of the Kindle screen display, I liked the Kindle editions for the Table of Contents feature and other navigational aids. These made it easy to skim, particularly in large issues of a pub like the daily New York Times... I currently subscribe via Kindle Newsstand to the publications below. It will be a hassle to manage the subscriptions separately now, for each publisher, via their websites. This mirrors the mess that streaming television has become, fragmented into many different providers with their own payment schedules, subscriptions costs, log-in credentials, Terms of Service, etc. etc. I have: The New York Times - Daily Edition for Kindle The New Yorker Foreign Affairs New Republic The New York Review of Books New York Magazine Woke up to the email and I'm pretty pissed. Loved having a few magazines and newspapers on my Kindle. Much easier on the eyes than a phone/tablet, better battery life, and things just worked (some of the apps reload and you lose your place between sessions). Very disappointing. I've subscribed to many newspapers and magazines via my kindle for many years and prefer its layout to most crappy apps. At this point, i have been only using my kindle to read newspapers and magazines (usually use the app for books). This is hugely disappointing. I have been a NYT subscriber on the Kindle for so many years...more than 10. One of my fondest memories is on a trip to Greece, staying in a hotel on the side of a cliff, and barely getting enough 3G signal to download the Sunday Edition. During the summer, I wake up every day and sit on my deck and read the NYT while I drink a cup of coffee. I subscribe to the paper edition on the weekends but I actually prefer the Kindle edition in a lot of ways because it's ad-free and easy to navigate. I was mad enough about dropping support for 3G but this might be the end of my relationship with Kindle. I'll switch brands to whatever I can get NYT on, or I'll just skip the Kindle entirely. And I was hoping to upgrade soon... Kindle probably just lost a customer. If you like reading news sites on Kindle, here's a hack to keep you going. POSTED March 16, 2023, 11:06 a.m. SEE MORE ON Mobile & Apps Amazon Kindle magazines New York Times newspapers Show tagsHide tags TWITTER FACEBOOK EMAIL SHARE ON FACEBOOK TWEET Amazon Kindle magazines New York Times newspapers Show comments Hide comments Show tagsHide tags What's the best way to follow how the news is changing? Our daily email, with all the freshest future-of-journalism news. [ ] [Subscribe] Prefer a once-a-week email? >> Cite this articleHide citations CLOSE MLA Owen, Laura Hazard. "Amazon calls it quits on newspaper and magazine subscriptions for Kindle and print." Nieman Journalism Lab. Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, 16 Mar. 2023. Web. 17 Mar. 2023. APA Owen, L. (2023, Mar. 16). Amazon calls it quits on newspaper and magazine subscriptions for Kindle and print. Nieman Journalism Lab. Retrieved March 17, 2023, from https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/03/ goodbye-newspapers-on-kindle-amazon-stops-selling-newspaper-and-magazine-subscriptions / Chicago Owen, Laura Hazard. "Amazon calls it quits on newspaper and magazine subscriptions for Kindle and print." Nieman Journalism Lab. Last modified March 16, 2023. Accessed March 17, 2023. https:// www.niemanlab.org/2023/03/ goodbye-newspapers-on-kindle-amazon-stops-selling-newspaper-and-magazine-subscriptions /. Wikipedia {{cite web | url = https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/03/ goodbye-newspapers-on-kindle-amazon-stops-selling-newspaper-and-magazine-subscriptions / | title = Amazon calls it quits on newspaper and magazine subscriptions for Kindle and print | last = Owen | first = Laura Hazard | work = [[Nieman Journalism Lab]] | date = 16 March 2023 | accessdate = 17 March 2023 | ref = {{harvid|Owen|2023}} }} The latest from Nieman Lab The Gary Lineker tweet scandal shows how the BBC has struggled to adapt to the social media age Marek Bekerman Journalists should be looking for undocumented APIs. Here's how to start. Leon Yin, The Markup The Prison Newspaper Directory finds that the number of prison-based papers is growing Hanaa' Tameez Don't trust "the news media"? That may be a good thing Michael J. Socolow Punches have been thrown in the first U.S. newspaper strike in two decades Joshua Benton Join the 60,000 who get the freshest future-of-journalism news in our daily email. 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