Wehco Media Raises Area Ad Rates 3 Percent

In a letter to advertisers, area newspapers operated by Wehco Media Group announced a 3 percent increase in daily and Sunday display advertising rates effective Nov. 1.

The increases do not include circulars or inserted advertising.

Jeff Jeffus, vice president and general manager of Northwest Arkansas operations, said total year-to-date newsprint and production cost increases have been about 11.3 percent, but that projections for 2006 are for increases of about 10 percent.

Publications affected by the new ad rate include: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Northwest Arkansas Times, Benton County Daily Record, Siloam Springs Herald Leader, The Rogers Hometown News, The Weekly Vista and five other community newspapers.

The letter said numbers from the Audit Bureau of Circulation show the D-G as the fastest growing daily and Sunday newspaper circulation in Benton and Washington counties.

In May, the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal reported unaudited ABC numbers that said the D-G’s circulation in Washington, Benton, Carroll and Madison counties combined increased by 1.3 percent on weekdays for the six-month period ended March 31, while Sunday circulation rose 0.2 percent.