The print newspaper industry is facing a crisis worldwide, due to the rising costs of newsprint, fuel, freight, ink and other consumables.
Here in Sri Lanka, this situation has been aggravated by the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors, coupled with the resultant foreign exchange crisis.
These factors have adversely affected the local newspaper industry, which has been compelled to take various steps to mitigate the crisis.
Most newspapers have reduced the number of pages and sections to control the escalating costs. But the quality of journalism could become a victim of this cost-cutting drive, which is not an ideal outcome for the newspapers and their readers.
The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) has so far absorbed the increased costs to give the readers a quality newspaper at the same cover price. But this is no longer tenable in the face of rapidly escalating prices of our supplies and materials, without essentially sacrificing the quality and content of your favourite weekend newspaper, The Sunday Observer. In this context, we have been reluctantly compelled to increase the cover price of the Sunday Observer to Rs. 200 from today to retain the quality of this newspaper. We hope that our valued readers will bear with us as we seek new avenues to give an even better reading experience, through a mix of news, features, analysis and commentary and superlative photography. We look forward to your continued patronage of the Sunday Observer and to make sure that you get your paper on time, reserve your copy at the nearest ANCL newsagent.