Dave’s Take

Pity the magazine publishers. It seems no matter what their strategy, people just don’t want or need their product any more. Blame it on the Internet; blame it on the economy; blame it on the proliferation of style over content, but don’t blame the decline in magazine subscriptions to rising prices. Despite the majority of pubs lowering their subscription costs, customers simply aren’t buying their rags at any cover price.

A recent survey of the top 344 magazines revealed that despite a decision by nearly 75% of the publishers to reduce their per-copy subscription price, paid subscriptions continue to decline. According to the study recently completed by the Audit Bureau of Circulations, cheaper magazine prices have failed dramatically to spur sales. Even when major titles like US News & World Report, Newsweek and Time all cut their rates to a mere 75 cents a copy, readers still weren’t interested.

I firmly believe the magazine biz is absolute proof that pay walls will never work for the vast majority of Internet content. Like magazines, news and opinion websites simply don’t have the timeliness or unique content to merit additional charges. After all, when was the last time you really read any “news” in Time or Newsweek that hadn’t been analyzed to death by TV pundits and other web-based sources? Exactly.

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It appears that the downward spiraling economy is taking a toll on another fabric of society – the jury pool. The Los Angeles Court Systems are complaining of a new and highly disruptive trend in seating citizens for jury duty – the economics of service. It seems that the California courts are having a difficult time in finding people who can afford to take the time off jury duty can require. And not only are those being asked to serve attempting to beg off on hardship clauses, they are becoming more militant in their persuasive techniques.

In a recent case involving a civil suit regarding a severe emotional distress case, potential jurors not only asked to be excused, but once denied that out, decided to yell their objections from the actual jury box. The case in point involved a decorated Sheriff’s deputy suing a supervisor for duress over alleged gay lifestyle charges. Two jurors who were denied dismissal due to economic hardship, forced their own dismissal by one stating in open court, “I think severe emotional distress is what is happening in Haiti. I don’t think you could have such distress from that.” Their spontaneous outburst spurred the rest of the jurors to express their doubts loudly as well, forcing the judge to dismiss the entire pool and try the case himself.

In another case involving asbestos damages, 66 of the 107 prospective jurors were excused for purely financial reasons. They simply couldn’t afford to take the time off work and had no choice but to decline the request. Even under the threat of a $1,500 fine, a lot of Los Angelinos are refusing to honor their $15/day duty. Experts maintain that even if California raised their jury pay to the whopping $40/day they’ve been trying to get for decades, it would make little difference. Apparently Justice is broke as well as blind in California.

As a patriotic American consumer, I feel it’s my duty to visit my local shopping malls often. While I, (like most people) have cut way back on my retail spending, I still enjoy the unique window-shopping and people watching my neighborhood shopping center provides. It is this observational addiction that has made me a middle-aged mall rat with no apologies.

Lately however, I have noticed an alarming trend in the retail sector — the kiosks are dying. Like a canary in a coalmine, the death rate of mall kiosks provides a window into just how bad our economy has become. Sure, some of the big chains have abandoned their once brightly lit storefronts, but for the most part the small vendors have hung in there. Now, it seems the retail meltdown has reached into each and every corner of the American mall.

I first noticed the kiosk death rattle when I realized that some of the bigger kiosk renters were calling it quits. I’m not talking cheap sunglasses or tennis shoe cleaner vendors, but companies like Dish Network and Alltell Communications throwing in the towel. They have obviously deducted the sad fact that malls no longer provide the prized foot traffic with disposable income they once did. Instead, they are closing their retail kiosks in favor of more (and cheaper) conventional methods of reaching new customers.

After noticing how many of the big guys were bailing on kiosk locations, I began to concentrate on the number of small vendors who are abandoning their American dream and folding. The number of empty mall kiosk carts is alarming. Visit your favorite shopping center and pay attention to how many empty carts are littering their hallways – it’s shocking. And why is this trend sounding a national alarm? Because mall kiosks represent the lowest common retail shopping denominator.

Who really needs any of the items sold at these retail rickshaws? Nobody. Mall kiosks are like mints and tabloids at the grocery store checkout stand. Something people buy based upon sheer impulse, with no thought as to necessity or value. When people stop impulse buying, it’s time to think about turning out the lights.

What can we do to reverse this frightening trend? First of all, our elected officials need to admit how bad things are. We already know we’re in much deeper guano than any politician will confirm. And until they speak the truth to their constituents, the problems with retail sales will only continue to rise. After recognizing the seriousness of the situation, we need the government to step up and begin to help the retail sector. SBA loans, rent subsidies, tax breaks and made-in-America first programs are just some of the ideas that may help in the long run. While debating the merits of these various solutions may not lead to a magic bullet, ignoring the reality of the situation is not the way to reinvigorate the retail sector.

Realistically, the death of mall kiosks is not anywhere near as serious as the war, unemployment, health care costs or the collapse of the real estate market. But it is yet another sign of how we are being misled about the collapse of our consumer-based economy. Our political leaders must be reminded that America is a resilient country, but one that depends upon open, honest debate to flourish.

So, the next time you visit your local mall, help the little guy — buy something, anything from a kiosk. The canary you save may be your own.