WASHINGTON (AFP) — Leading US newspapers said Wednesday they had been forced to print extra copies to keep pace with demand as consumers sought out mementos of Barack Obama's historic election.
In Washington, about 400 people formed a long queue in front of the office of The Washington Post to buy the newspaper after copies sold out across the city.
The Post, which increased its normal print run by 30 percent, said it had decided to produce an extra 250,000 copies of a special commemorative edition.
In New York, The New York Times said it had had increased its normal print run by 35 percent but said it had gone back to press to produce another 75,000 copies.
"I have a two-year-old grandchild and I'm going to keep a copy for her," said Vernon Short, a 68-year-old retired military man, as he waited in the queue for The Washington Post special edition.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I want to have a reminder," he told AFP.
Francine Garner, 48, was at the front of the queue and had been waiting for three hours.
"It's about keeping track of history and having something you can keep forever," she said.
Rima Calderon, head of communications for The Washington Post, said the events of Wednesday proved the popularity of papers in an age when many are predicting their demise in the face of online competition.
"It does say something really marvellous about the printed newspaper. When there's a historic event like last night people want a printed copy for posterity," she said.
"We didn't realize that the demand would be so large."
In Obama's home town of Chicago, The Chicago Sun-Times said it had printed extra "tens of thousands" of copies but had also been forced back to press.
"To meet the seemingly unending demand, several thousand extra copies are being printed," it said in an online message.
Newspapers were not the only news source in demand as CNN.com and other online news sites reported record traffic on Tuesday.
CNN.com said it received the largest daily audience in its history Tuesday with 30 million unique visitors, more than double the previous record of 13.4 million unique visitors during the Democratic primaries on Super Tuesday.
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