This was
published online Tuesday, February 21, 2018.
The next day
this appeared.
What was FREE
the day before now had a cost to the viewer. I have no idea of the response,
but this pop-up disappeared before the day was over.
I fully
understand what this particular company is going through. I worked there for 38
years and watched the changes happen. I was one of the unfortunates to the
economy affects on this stogy stoic industry.
From what I
knew a ‘news’ paper was a delivery service to educated opinions and
professional journalism without bias for the public to consume and make their
own opinions. The printed newsprint was the cheapest method to deliver the news
(beyond the town crier) and paid advertising covered the cost of the ink and
paper and salaries. The subscription cost to have a bundle of information
delivered to your door every morning covered the cost of hiring young people on
bicycles establishing their first business experience.
I understand it
cost to keep the computers churning and the cameras clicking and the toilets
clean but demanding pay for information seems a reverse of the mission
statement.
Then this…
2/22/2018 4:15 p.m. update:
To our readers,
In an effort to improve your online
experience, we have upgraded the self-service tools at Richmond.com. During the upgrade, our subscribers and
registered users have automatically been logged out of the website, and will
need to log back in to read articles, view the e-edition, and access
self-service features such as updating account information and placing vacation
holds onto their accounts.
To sign back in, click the “LOG IN” link in
the upper right corner of any page on Richmond.com and enter your username and password. Your username is the email
address associated with your subscription account.
If you’ve forgotten your password, click on
“Forgot your password?” and instructions will be sent to the email address on
file.
If you still need assistance, please send
us a note or call (804) 644-4181.
If you don’t have a digital subscription, click
here to sign up for as little as $8.99 per month.
Thank you for reading The Times-Dispatch and
supporting local journalism.
Earlier:
To our readers,
On Wednesday, Richmond.com underwent a software change that was
intended to improve our digital signup and login process. It didn’t go exactly
as planned, and we’re working feverishly to fix it.
The main issue is that some accounts were
not properly moved over to our new subscription management system, and those
readers may have encountered an error message when trying to access online
content. We’re troubleshooting that now, and in the meantime we’ve opened up
full access to the website for all readers.
Thank you for your patience. We’ll be back
with more information as soon as we resolve this issue.
To our subscribers, thank you for your
continued support.
So now I can
read the full story as I did yesterday without restrictions or demands for
payment for information. I’ve stopped my subscription to the print because I
didn’t see enough value in the printing and delivery of information that I
couldn’t scan online and (as every newspaper writer will acknowledge) follow
the headline to the inverted pyramid. Without an attachment to the obituaries
or the classifieds or the automotive/real estate ads or coupon fillers, there
were some uninteresting sports (unless your child is playing) and a fairly
comprehensive presentation of local political problems.
If you give me
the sport scores, I’ve already seen them on the nightly news last night. If you
give me the latest movie news, I’ve already seen the trailer and reviews on the
web.
Perhaps the
very expensive printing plant in Hanover is just a hold over until the readers
die off but will the new news junkies look to an aging brand for up-to-date
timely information they want?
I personally
am glad I’m out of the game and wish whoever is left well for the path is hazy.
I respect those who are out in the wee hours of the morning throwing news in
the darkness fully knowing their occupation is going the way of the trolley car
and the manual typewriter.
Just don’t
move my comics.
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