Unbelievable price increase for Dallas Morning News subscription
Posted by Ohif0n1y@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 141 comments
So we recently received an email from the Dallas Morning News saying that on about April 7th our subscription price for 7-day delivered newspaper would increase to $96.76 per four weeks, which works out to $1,257.88 per year.
After decades we're finally going to cancel our subscription because that price is outrageous.
dallas_asc@reddit
Just call and cancel a they will offer you better and better deals but just keep saying no thank you I need to cancel and don’t want any other offers… done
Ohif0n1y@reddit (OP)
This is what I've told my husband folks have been saying on here. I even offered to call them, but he wants to do it and he said he'll tell them that if they can't offer him the price that's advertised on their website that we'll cancel.
DrinkSodaBad@reddit
I heard you cannot directly cancel it, you need to call them lol. Good luck.
ohwhataday10@reddit
just call your credit card company and stop payment!
Cercie256to4@reddit
No, they will come after that kind of debt and take you to collections. I have seen that as pretty much standard practice in print subscriptions.
permalink_save@reddit
FTC rules have come or are coming into play in the next month making it illegal and you could use that as leverage back to remove it from your CC report
Tiiimmmaayy@reddit
Considering they gutted the CFPB and shut down the $5 overdraft cap, I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.
arlenroy@reddit
Yeah I'm with you, Republicans are gonna let corporate overlords fuck you any way they can, especially after canceling the overdraft cap. We're gonna get fucked worse than the gimp scene from Pulp Fiction, these dumbass Trump supporters are going to get screwed then make up excuses why it's ok to get screwed.
Chemical_Mongoose_46@reddit
Or just pay your debts and not get fucked by anyone?
futurexwife07@reddit
Shit happens sometimes and things fall through the cracks but fuck them, right?
indigoC99@reddit
Now they're trying to get our transit too, in favor of Uber lobbyists. Have the Rs ever passed anything that has helped the population?
mashupXXL@reddit
Or, you just call them for 2 minutes and get it cancelled and confirmed, instead of possibly blowing up your credit and spending 100 hours trying to fix it and getting pissed off and stressed out...? Much simpler.
licensed2jill@reddit
We didn't have problems canceling our subscription via phone call
duchess_of_nothing@reddit
They were really aggressive in asking why I was canceling and trying to talk me into a new intro rate.
While not a problem per se, it was an unnecessary hassle that should have been avoided.
permalink_save@reddit
They aren't acting legally so fuck em, if they want to persue it then you can request it be removed for them violating FTC rules. That's it. We shouldn't just put up with anti-consumer practices because it's a hassle because they already are making things a hassle to screw over customers. Credit agencies generally will side with you if a company is not acting lawfully and you have good justification. I'm not sitting on the fucking phone to cancel something I can sign up for online.
mashupXXL@reddit
I agree with your sentiment wholeheartedly, but there are people who have this mindset and get a charge off/collection that blows up their credit score 100 points for a few years, and they may no longer qualify to buy a home, rent a home they really liked, or qualify for a car they want or something because of it. I don't mess around when it comes to things like this as it can cause tremendous problems down the road that simply aren't worth it.
xxxams@reddit
I don't like simple thank you
TheBookie_55@reddit
T R U T H!
texan-yankee@reddit
I bought a 6 month subscription once that DID NOT have auto renewal, but they kept delivering it and then sent my unpaid bill to collections. Also, by the way, they never actually even sent me a bill, I just got the collections letter.
Cercie256to4@reddit
Fun.
How did you resolve it in the end?
texan-yankee@reddit
I let it go. No big hit to my credit. Plus, I already own my home and will pay for my next car with cash, so I'm not overly concerned with my credit score as long as it stays in "good" range.
ImOldGregg_77@reddit
Ya this is the way
drrtz@reddit
A better approach is to email them telling them that you're
1) cancelling your subscription, and 2) revoking credit card authorization.
If they continue to charge you after that, then you report them to the police and your credit card bank for credit card fraud.
jakedasnake011@reddit
I tried this with Chase and they don’t allow you to specifically stop payment on DMN. Had to call and cancel lol
SuccotashOther277@reddit
I wish companies knew how much this hurts new subscriptions. I canceled my DMN a while back and would subscribe again but the horror stories of canceling and the lack of an easy process to cancel is a huge deterrent. Same for satellite radio. I thought about subscribing but saw horror stories of how hard they make it to cancel so hard no for me.
csonnich@reddit
Literally one of the things that kept me from joining a gym. If you could just push a button, I bet people would join and quit and rejoin all the time like they do Netflix subscriptions.
baboon101@reddit
I was a member of a gym that said I had to come in person to cancel. A one star review later and they all of the sudden gained the ability to email me a cancellation form. Which is still a stupid way to cancel, but a marginally less stupid one.
Right_Rev@reddit
Call them. They’ll work something out with you. They’re like Sirius XM or Frontier cable with their pricing technique
happy_puppy25@reddit
Shouldn’t have to call to cancel. Was going to be illegal by ftc rule to have anything more than 1 click required on the website to cancel, but ftc is now gutted in favor of companies
Right_Rev@reddit
Yeah. Nowadays it’s all about corporate interests isn’t it?
permalink_save@reddit
If you can signup online this is becoming illegal now
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/10/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-click-cancel-rule-making-it-easier-consumers-end-recurring
bikerdude214@reddit
But trump is gutting ftc rules that help consumers. j
Hoopy_Dunkalot@reddit
He could write the CFPB for help. 😵💫😵
happy_puppy25@reddit
Why are people downvoting you? People, this comment means that the CFPB effectively does not exist anymore, meaning there is nothing stopping any financial crime or injustice perpetrated by a company against the American consumer
3-DMan@reddit
Gym membership cancellation flashback intensifies
noncongruent@reddit
To cancel my gym membership I had to mail a typed letter explicitly stating I wanted to cancel my membership via certified mail to Chicago, and under the rules the cancellation didn't take effect until 30 days after they received the letter.
3-DMan@reddit
Lol yeah I had to go in person to Planet Fitness...during lockdown.
TengoCalor@reddit
It’s true. I had a subscription many years ago for school and they gave me such a hard time to cancel when I called. I needed up telling them that I’m a student and can’t afford literally any price they offer me and the lady finally carried out the cancellation
Boisenberry@reddit
Tell them you’re moving out of town
WorldlinessNearby876@reddit
why the fuck do people pay for news? its all free .
Hour_Raisin_7642@reddit
Any reason why not using Newsreadeck? You can read local and international news without any distraction. Way better if you do not want to pay a lot of money
zaptorque@reddit
If you call to cancel they will end up giving you a deal
fleckspeck@reddit
Yes. We call them every year
AnOldParkBench@reddit
Or you can be like us and just get it every Sunday without asking for it
mackeprang@reddit
Call to cancel, they will lower the price three times before allowing the final cancellation.
These-Slip1319@reddit
Relieved they quit throwing the free version on Wednesdays, it was nearly impossible to get them to stop, it just went straight to the recycle bin, like the yellow pages
Terrible_Shelter_345@reddit
Basically it’s just a parasite sucking up money from unaware seniors that they’re subscribed.
Ohif0n1y@reddit (OP)
We're very aware we're subscribed. In the beginning, we used to get the Dallas Times Herald. Switched to the DMN when DTH closed down. We've been subscribers for decades. The price before this for a year was somewhere over $300. Now an increase to almost $1300?! F***ing outrageous!
Terrible_Shelter_345@reddit
Right I’m not saying everyone is, but this kind of price increase is specifically malicious for the reason I stated.
I’m not talking about any average gray haired retiree. I’m talking about people aged 80+ with failing health that this is designed for.
This is a “I’m a dying out product/service and here is my last ditch effort to make money” move.
HereIAmNow02@reddit
It took me about 3 years to convince my mom to stop paying her AOL subscription.
TravelingChick@reddit
This. My 89 year-old mom reads the paper everyday and works the puzzles. When and how do I tell her it’s too expensive on her budget? My parents have been subscribing since the 70s.
El73camino@reddit
Just be honest and show them the bill.
Heretogetthingsdone@reddit
Bring back the Times Herald
txholdup@reddit
Bring back the old Observer, the one that dug into local stories of money, power and shaping our city to make the wealthy, wealthier.
Solomon-Drowne@reddit
Bring back Jim Schutze, before he was lost to cantankerous whingeing!
CapitanShinyPants@reddit
Jim is still doing his thing, but on Facebook.
Solomon-Drowne@reddit
For sure we're friendly matter of fact. See him on Messenger.
I no longer have any idea what's going with Dallas city government and I don't think very many people still do, at this point.
I hope Mr. Griggs is doing well! Kinda checked out after the mayoral race.
uhh_khakis@reddit
Check his book about Dallas if you haven't already
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
That was the best one! True independent journalism. Plus it let me know where all the good shows were happening.
lpalf@reddit
✅✅✅
CatteNappe@reddit
When we had both I subscribed to both. I don't see that the old Times Herald offered any better value than the old, or current, DMN. I suspect if the TH were still with us they'd be upping their subscription fees to about the same.
noncongruent@reddit
TH had Molly Ivans, that made the subscription worth it to me. Everything else was just bonus.
Heretogetthingsdone@reddit
And littering peoples lawns with free neighborhood subscriptions adding to their claimed distribution numbers
ILikeToParty86@reddit
My dad would love you for saying this. He worked there back in the day and hates the DMN
Heretogetthingsdone@reddit
I recall we subscribed, and remember when there was some consolidation (was it BELO?). Next thing you know and all the good funnies were pulled from the Times Herald. It went under and I learned to be more critical of the news.
TheTannerFamily@reddit
What I find amazing is that 1) this is the ONLY place on the internet where this this price is reported, 2) this price is over FOUR TIMES what is reported on their website, and 3) not a single person in this thread has questioned this or looked into this.
So basically, someone has come onto Reddit, said the Dallas Morning News is raising their price by over 4 times what they currently list on their website, and everyone is like yep that's definitely true, screw the Dallas Morning News?
A one year delivered and digital subscription to the Dallas Morning News is $314.06, which is a very different number than $1,257.88.
Ohif0n1y@reddit (OP)
We've been subscribed for decades (ever since the Dallas Times Herald closed). When I was trying to double-check their prices online I was gobsmacked! That's why I posted here. I'll try posting the email from them.
CapitanShinyPants@reddit
For a new subscription, but they increase the price dramatically on renewals, which is exactly what the OP was taking about, had you spent more time on comprehension than trying to play “Gotcha!”.
DavidTheBlue@reddit
Call them and say you have to quit because of the price. They will offer you a better price. Ask them for their best price. Don't agree until he/she says it is the best price.
Ohif0n1y@reddit (OP)
Thank you for your suggestion. I asked my husband if he wanted to call them or have me do it. He wants to do it. I'll let him know what you suggested. Thanks!
ImReflexess@reddit
Oh hey you just woke up in 2025, welcome! Lots has changed, newspapers are pretty obsolete, and our government is in shambles but good to see you’re taking care of things.
Ohif0n1y@reddit (OP)
snerk Nice try. Newspapers generally have more in-depth local news so for those who want to stay up-to-date it's a good addition for research. Especially when you want to find out if a local politician has been doing something that would be very good to know about before voting. Being a librarian, I get my info and news from several different places, including news outlets such as the UK Guardian online.
I heartily encourage everyone to look at various news sources and compare them to see how balanced they are.
Acrobatic-Currency-7@reddit
It's a move out of desperation.
yeahright17@reddit
The website being almost completely paywalled and really expensive killed the DMN. I'd happily subscribe if it was a reasonable price. I'd also read their stories and click on their ads if I could access them for free. But I can't.
Kit3399@reddit
I read for free through Plano Public Library's Press Reader
yeahright17@reddit
Thanks for the advice. I'll check it out.
CaptainZhon@reddit
My dad has dementia, one of things he needs his DMN or he goes crazy. Can’t fool him with past issues as he likes memorizes them.
MissTerious7@reddit
Turn off JavaScript on their site and read it for free.
xxshteviexx@reddit
Or use Privacy.com to sign up for the promos and set a transaction limit.
xxshteviexx@reddit
Dallas Morning News is a predatory company that has made all the wrong moves for years and years, finding ways to trick people into paying more, offering shady deals and then pulling them out without warning, etc.
This has been discussed many times at length:
5 months ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/comments/1g9nxjo/dallas_morning_news_will_finally_have_to_play/
9 months ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dallas/comments/1dsa7o8/dallas_morning_news_raises_prices_to_391year_for/
/u/mikeorren, their Chief Product Officer, said almost 3 years ago that they were very close to releasing the ability for users to cancel online. What happened? Someone realized that it's better to keep that hard rather than make things easy for people.
I pay $50/year approximately to the other media I subscribe to. I can't believe they would rather try to get $200+ from whoever is willing rather than have a $50/year option from presumably a larger number.
It's almost like they are willing to try anything except actually treating customers well.
The only other businesses I know who force phone calls with retention people are cable / Internet companies like Charter / Spectrum. Scummiest company you can possibly keep.
I suspect DMN will be dismantled soon enough. Sadly it will end up getting bought by some extremist political BS people and end up spewing garbage all the time. And it will be because they were inflexible and wanted to use sticks instead of carrots with their loyal customers.
How about instead of offering $0.99 for 4 weeks and then jacking up to $25/week you just have an affordable price that new subscribers can feel good about?
Talking to you, Grant...
satchel65@reddit
Just call em and cancel. The call center they use has no connection to the actual paper. They’ll offer you whatever deal they can to get you to stay, but just say no thanks and they’ll cancel it. You are not going to hurt anyone’s feelings.
wlcm2jurrassicpark@reddit
Why are you getting delivered physical papers still in 2025? What a waste of carbon and resources.
DMN sucks But that price seems fair.
Good luck trying to cancel, they are the devil and make it a fight
sambar101@reddit
Just get Apple News….
Difficult_Fondant580@reddit
Who would spend $1200 on a DMN? We used to have it delivered to an office of about 30 people. After it went untouched for a month, we had the sense to cancel it. It's not worth $10 per month. $100 per month should be criminal.
CatteNappe@reddit
That's less than $3.50 per day for something personally delivered to your home 365 days per year - rain, shine, sleet, snow. Something that contains unbiased news of major events in the world, and our nation; along with detailed explorations of local importance. (Not to mention funnies, columns, puzzles and other sundry amusements that you might have been enjoying). Compare the cost of that to the latte or boba tea or donut that many people find worth an expenditure almost every day.
CheezitsLight@reddit
Hardly unbiased. Cancelled mine for bias, and not the cost.
CatteNappe@reddit
LOL Biased in what direction?
CheezitsLight@reddit
Go read the Opinion page and see if you can find anything from AOC.
ConcreteRocket@reddit
Exactly! DMN is as biased as they come. I quit them years ago.
Anon31780@reddit
Same. If I want yellow journalism, I’ll go hang out on Facebook.
stopslappingmybaby@reddit
If “unbiased news” was actually produced by this media corporation, I agree that $100/month is a fair price.
boosted32vee@reddit
Truf!
We were at DTH family and when they went under all we had was the DMN, it was and it turned to be bad for Dallas just having one voice. I was a subscriber, but their prices got outrageous. I just read that there were shutting down their Plano location at Coit and Plano Pkwy, that just shows that it won't be long now.
Agreeable_Meaning_96@reddit
What the prior cost? OP didn't mention, was this a big increase?
LipFighter@reddit
DMN is more difficult to cancel than a heart attack.
therealallpro@reddit
Everyone complains about Newspapers being too expensive. Democracy is already falling apart. What do you think is going to happen when more and more newspapers go out of business?
GravitationalEddie@reddit
I heard a story on NPR today and print media is having a bad time as anyone can understand. This should be no surprise.
bluemojogreen@reddit
With a dwindling subscriber base and increasing production costs, it is a matter of time until the end. I may be the only full-time subscriber on my block. They keep reducing content that we used to enjoy - Parade Magazine, weekly news quiz, cartoons. Price increases are a lot for people on fixed-income.
noncongruent@reddit
And the whole "production cost" thing is weak. Sure, the print edition is more expensive because those big presses are getting harder to find people to maintain, but production costs on digital editions don't scale with volume at all. It costs the same to produce one digital subscription as it does a thousand.
Furrealyo@reddit
I guess you haven’t been watching the NPR testimony on Capital Hill this week?
It’ll be dead before print media is. Maybe by the end of the month.
GravitationalEddie@reddit
Yes, I'm well aware of the defending issue. Listened to an interview with someone who explained that it will be affected, but not dead. There are a number of donors willing to keep it going.
Furrealyo@reddit
Pretty cringeworthy testimony. We all knew NPR leaned left, but goddamn!
firecat2666@reddit
LOL good luck with that. I had to call to cancel and the lady would not accept my request to cancel, responding with a new low subscription offer. She did this at least 5 times, all while someone in the background, likely coaching her over her shoulder pressed her not to accept my answer (I could hear this). After this back and forth, she finally relented crestfallen after I got stern.
The Dallas Morning News treats their customers terribly. God speed.
noncongruent@reddit
They probably punish employees for every cancellation, too.
Prize_Huckleberry_79@reddit
What’s funny is that if they went back to 25 cents a paper I’d probably get a subscription
TheChrisSuprun@reddit
The Dallas Morning News has deteriorated for years. This is a move of a drowning company who has ignored the public they "serve" for some time. Cancel and move on.
permalink_save@reddit
Yep, plus firing a reporter because our shitty mayor complained she used "bruh" on twitter
sethferguson@reddit
Don’t forget about endorsing Abbott for a second term
noncongruent@reddit
Near as I can tell they didn't endorse anyone for President. I guess their thinking was "If we endorse Trump then we'll lose half our customers or more right away, but if we don't endorse anyone and Trump doesn't notice we didn't endorse him then he won't come after us."
Edicedi@reddit
Probably bc tariffs. Canada is the largest newsprint paper supplier in the world.
matt_havener@reddit
It's too bad because we need a local paper now more than ever. I keep my digital subscription despite the steep price ($35/mo)
Dry-Celebration-4781@reddit
Most print media in the US is printed with Canadian paper pulp, which now costs 20% more
Right_Letterhead_120@reddit
You can get DMN on Apple News Plus which is $12.99/month.
TheBuzzTrack@reddit
For a regional paper, that is an outrageous subscription price! Honestly, I am surprised they haven't run right into bankruptcy already. I cancelled my subscription to them a few years ago when they price hiked to a level more significant than the nationally recognized papers like NY Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal.
Banjo_2-Row@reddit
This. I would pay $100/yr or even $200/yr for digital only, but $365/yr (after the sale rate expires) is just absurd. They’re also pretty dodgy about their price structure once the deal rate expires. I know that the journalism and subscriptions are separate divisions, but am I supposed to trust the journalism when the subscription strategy is so shady?
bwh1986@reddit
Cancelled my subscription after they put out a piece saying we all need to support Trump and I let them know as much. So much for being unbiased.
thesllug@reddit
Sounds like they're trying to prey on the elderly that have been subscribers forever or the deceased estates. Gross!
MagicWishMonkey@reddit
What were you paying before?
Architect__@reddit
Apple News on my iPhone/ipad is like $10 a month and I get the DMN, as well as every other newspaper in the country.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
Wow I remember walking to the corner to get the Dallas Morning News Sunday paper so I could clip coupons. It was 50 cents, so I needed two quarters. So that came to $26 per year and I got some steps in.
I thought internet was supposed to make it cheaper and pay the journalists better. Since they wouldn't have to print papers and maintain the news stands, which were always getting vandalized by teenagers.
CatteNappe@reddit
Internet is cheaper. The OP is posting about the home delivered print edition. I think the current digital only is $52 per year.
biaggio@reddit
It's worded kind of strangely. If you "act now" you can get a rate of $52 for one year. It doesn't say what happens after that. You can also get a subscription for $1 for 6 months, and after that it's $4.99 per week.
sethferguson@reddit
Back in those days nickels had pictures of bees on them, gimme five bees for a quarter we’d say. So I’d take ten bees worth of quarters down to get the Sunday paper..
mfhbasscat@reddit
Been in Dallas since 85’…didn’t know this still existed….
madster40@reddit
Call them and ask them to drop the price and they will likely offer you a deal similar to what you're paying now.
truth-4-sale@reddit
I remember when the paper cost 25 cents.
txchiefsfan02@reddit
The death spiral accelerates.
tombeaux1950@reddit
Get a digital subscription.
ILikeToParty86@reddit
They are fucking toast. Cant believe people still pay for the newspaper and listen to the radio
tabrizzi@reddit
I don't remember the last time I read a newspaper, but I still listen to the radio - while I'm driving. Always worth listening to NPR and BBC.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
NPR is still pretty good, but I remember when Dallas had good radio stations. Now wth happened. Oh, it was Clear Channel.
TheDakestTimeline@reddit
Now now, don't let Cumulus off the hook for shittiness
GravitationalEddie@reddit
What's wrong with radio? Sure, I hate shitty DJs and commercials so I change channels – plus I mostly keep to commercial-free. My commute is to short to mess with anything else and that's a large majority of my listening time.
ILikeToParty86@reddit
Stop it. Same excuse every time I talk shit about the radio. U listed why it sucks. So many podcasts and music streaming services to even bother with the radio. The radio is useless
GravitationalEddie@reddit
I also listed why it's not useless for me.
Cercie256to4@reddit
That would be about the print addition cost for the wsj. Call and cancel.
EastTXJosh@reddit
Good grief. That’s absurd.
Vast_Hyena2443@reddit
Cancelled YEARS ago. No bueno!!
Significant_Walk7371@reddit
Switch to twice a week, and you still get everything else online.
mc-tx@reddit
Lol are you 80?
noncongruent@reddit
For that price I'd want to get the full Thanksgiving Edition coupon and ad section that was over an inch thick by itself, plus a wash, wax, and detail every month on the second Tuesday.
Acrobatic-Currency-7@reddit
It's a desperate move before they go belly up.