How Much The WTS Pays To Print And Distribute Its Magazines Per Item (page 2)

RunningMan

The company I work for publishes a magazine (along with other things). The circulation is 110,000. Before any advertising is sold, it costs us 81 cents per issue. However, 45 cents is postage, so the production of the mag is 36 cents.

Now, our magazine is usually 64 pages (double the size of a WT). It is printed on glossy paper, every page is four colour, we buy the articles and pay our staff. Also, our quantity is relatively small. We could produce a WT easily for 10 cents a copy - and that's Canadian cents, so around 9 cents US. So, with volunteer labour (although not free labour) and huge production runs, I would say their cost is no more than 7 cents per copy.

IT Support

In Britain in the 1970s, the cost was approx USD 0.003 (one third of a cent) per magazine for direct printing costs, and approx USD 0.005 (half a cent) per magazine when all Britain Branch overheads were included (i.e. costs of trucking, home and office workers, provision of accommodation and propety maintenance, food, laundry, etc.)

Price Hughes (branch servant before the branch committee arrangement) used to boast that he ran the cheapest branch in the world. It was true - he was really cheap!

rolling rock

^^^^^ Cool that was your 666th post...^^^^^

LDH

Regarding the cost of the watchtower magazine. I get a newspaper every day delivered to my front door that costs me $0.46 per copy. The average paper is approximately 35 pages double sides printed with multi color on some of the pages. The pages are 14" x 20" for approximately 70 square feet per copy. (awake alone uses about 9 sq. ft per copy) The paper is newsprint which is similar to the quality of the Watchtower publication. A newspaper requires a large staff of "PAID" reporters as well as many others to complete these papers on time. The stories are not made up as they go along. The population of the area coverage of this paper is about 300,000 homes and busnesses. The personnel of this paper are paid a living wage with benefits. In addition, this company makes a profit.
If the watchtower were to send a dozen copies to each of the 6 million members that would be 72 million copies. Is this per week? Wowee. The cost of 3 cents per copy is indeed excessive.

NICELY STATED!!! Where have ya been all my apostate life?

Stealth453

But isn't the number ju jour 616 now?

jwfacts

When I was in Bethel Australia in 1993 the cost per magazine was 21 cents Australian. At that time we were still selling magazines for 80 cents.

Borgia

I looked up some figures. In 1984 there werea bout 1,8 million subscriptions at 24 mags a year at a cost of about 5 - 6 US. Back then I thought the mags were all sold at the counter for approx 20 cents or something. May be my estimates are a bit out due to echange rates and price level differences. since the WT had boasted that around 287 M copies had been placed in the year 1984, and all these copies were supposed to have been bought at the counter.....

287 * 0,2 = 57,4M US. Printing cost at a rough estimate of 3 cents equals a yearly gross profit of about 49.000.000,= US on the mags alone. BUT this is about placed mags. In 1984 the WT ran at a rate of 10,2M coppies a month. OW was about at the same rate so, say 20M copies. That's 480M copies at a profit margin of 17 cents. Were talking 82M US. Not counting the countless bibles, 192 pages books etc etc. There were 2,8M publishers (including unbabtized kids) in them days. That makes 67M copies for personal use, leaving 130M copies laying around to for the wastebin.......

The need to gain support on a real voluntairy basis is therefore greater than ever, thanks to the reforms incited by taxlaws. Put in other words: Vulnerability is flying straight in the face.

Cheers

Borgia

IT Support

rolling rock,

^^^^^ Cool that was your 666th post...^^^^^

Thanks, I hadn't noticed! Stealth 453,

But isn't the number ju jour 616 now?

Did I read somewhere that 616 was a more accurate spelling of Emperor Nero, than 666 ...??

Thinkagain

LOL Don't worry anything the org puts there hands on

is to make money, or it would not be there long.

How Much The WTS Pays To Print And Distribute Its Magazines Per Item

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