Extra Extra: Yesterday's News Is Today's Big Business

Who ever thought that old news would be good news?

Intrigued by the article—he no longer remembers what it was about—he carried the paper with him to work. It wasn’t until his lunch break that Lionel realized the paper was two days old and had already been used as (1) a newspaper, (2) a paper hat, and (3) possibly as a blanket by some bum who left it on the bus.

Lionel saw that news doesn’t necessarily become dated within a day.

Inspired by his own experience Lionel quit his job and started a news kiosk downtown. He picks up or buys remainders (papers left over at the end of the day) and resells them the next day. The papers sell at a fraction of their cover price, but the margins are good, since he paid next to nothing for them.

“The first day I just picked up whatever I could find,” he said with a laugh. “It was a long, cold night let me tell you. Then I realized that regular vendors and the newspaper truck guys can’t wait to dump their leftovers at the end of the day. Now I mostly sell pristine copies of yesterday’s news.”