Baltimore Messenger to Start Subscription Charge

The Baltimore Messenger, a free local newspaper in North Baltimore for 25 years, is beginning to charge for subscriptions and plans to expand its coverage area into the Hampden neighborhood. Free subscriptions will end April 1; the Messenger will then cost $24.95 a year.

Jim Quimby, president and chief executive officer of the Baltimore Sun Community Newspapers Group, said the group does not currently plan to convert its nine other free newspapers to paid subscriptions. The Messenger will build its subscription base through a combination of telemarketing, direct mail and sampling, he said.

The newspaper group comprises Patuxent Publishing Co., which publishes the Messenger and 12 other newspapers in the metropolitan Baltimore region, and Homestead Publishing Co., which publishes The Aegis, The Record, The Weekender and APG News.

- from The Sun

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