OT: Would you subscribe to the CL...

[dawgstudent]

if for example, every national article was free but all local articles were not including sports coverage? For let's say $10/month, you would get delivery of the actual paper and online subscription.

I know it's an off the wall question but I think of crazy, stupid **** sometimes.

 

[dawgstudent]

if for example, every national article was free but all local articles were not including sports coverage? For let's say $10/month, you would get delivery of the actual paper and online subscription.

I know it's an off the wall question but I think of crazy, stupid **** sometimes.

 

[seshomoru]

Marshall Ramsey has his own website and the local 6 or 10 news is about all I need.

I can get plenty of MSU sports coverage from other places.

 

[VirgilCain]

.

 

[tenureplan]

If Veazey were still covering us, maybe, but just for the online content; The paper would get used for packing and starting fires.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

I'm 40-years-old and have had a Clarion Ledger subscription every day of my life (my parents and now me). I am about to cancel because the service is ******. Nothing to do with the content. Delivery has gotten sporadic, they messed up my bill, customer service is full of dubmasses, Rick Cleveland is an ******* (yes I talked to him personally). I love a newspaper. I read the newspaper every morning while I eat breakfast, and feel naked when I eat breakfast with nothing to read. But THE CLARION LEDGER EMPLOYEES ALL F***ING SUCK!!!! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!!! So honestly, when I cancel, I will probably never look back.

 

[thelaw]

I can get all national and local news for free and instantly online. Why should I spend $120 on poorly written articles that are usually a day or so late?

 

[Shmuley]

viewer polls masquerading as news items trotted out by the local affiliates of regional/national television media organizations.

Everything online I need is here, Drudge, and few other select sites.

 

[RobbieRandolph]

You still get online access whether it be via an actual computer or tablet.

 

[dawgstudent]

you make a lot more money so if it increased circulation, they would have the numbers to prove it.

 

[VirgilCain]

You stupid ****.... DS question was $10 for a delivered paper AND online access (local articles would be premium content)......I don't give a **** about receiving a morning paper in my driveway (and actually don't want it, i'll just throw it away), but I would be interested in the online access.

on a more cordial note, what are your thoughts about some serious frothdawgs at B-dub-squared in Starkville for Sunday Fundays this fall? and spring....forever?

 

[fishwater99]

So I would easily pay $10 for both.

 

[AssEndDawg]

First some background. I went to MSU thinking I would major in either Journalism or computers. As soon as I saw the starting salaries for each I dove into computers. But I have a minor in journalism and so I mull this often.

The biggest mistake made is thinking you can just throw what you did in print onto a web site and you are done. But that's not the way it works. This is a different medium and people have different expectations. Sot to answer the question: 1) I'm never going to buy a dead tree newspaper again and 2) I'm not paying the Clarion-Ledger for what they have now online.

But, I think they could do something with a different kind of online version. Instead of just shipping the Mississippi news out to the web they need to focus in on what people are willing to pay for. Face it, sports extends beyond the state and certainly beyond the Jackson Metro Area. But, I don't care about what's happening in Jackson, I don't care about their take on national news. If they had a site dedicated to Mississippi sports, I would be all over that. More/better coverage. but they need to pick their battles, they can't compete with the SixPack because they won't allow what we do here, but they could crush the news side of sites like SwanLake and BDJ. I though BDJ did some cool stuff by having JWS do an article. What BDJ lacked in professionalism they made up for in creativity (well not quite, but you get the point).

Anyway, I think there is a way the Clarion Ledger could do this and make money. But they are still in newspaper mentality. Slowly circling the drain with all the other old school print media outlets.

 

[VirgilCain]

Since you run this website with advertisements, what do you think a homepage advertisement would cost on ClarionLedger.com? I'd have to guess it would get at least as much ad-exposure as a newspaper ad if not woefully more-so. i think online ads are harder to completely overlook (purposefully) than newspaper ads.

I just clicked over to CL.com, do they not have any advertisements? I can't believe I've never noticed that. What the 17 are they doing? That seems idiotic to me to not have advertisements on their website... That seems like free money to me.

 

[dawgstudent]

They have ads.

 

[dawgstudent]

I was getting Sunday only but they called and said you could get every day for a year for the same price. Once they go up - I will go back to Sunday only.

 

[pDigital32Dawg]

I recently got a tablet and it has replaced all urge of mine to hold a hard copy of the newspaper. I can get on my tablet and read any news I want regardless of location. And as for paying $10 monthly fee or what not. I wouldn't do that either because I currently don't subscribe to any site that charges a service fee, and quite frankly have no desire to.

 

[patdog]

About half go straight to the recycle bin and half get skimmed. Used to take me an hour to read the Sunday paper. Now it takes 20 minutes tops. They called me and tried to give me the every day for the same price for a year. The girltried to explan that the Mon-Thur papers wereFREE. I explained to her that I wouldn't take them even if they paid me because I didn't want to have to deal with customer service screwing up a stop paper order when I went out of town and threw the paper every day anyway advertising to anyone who drove past that I'm not home.

 

[VirgilCain]

I think I have just deflated my own argument since ad-blockers are probably a large drawback for potential online advertisers.

It's funny, I was just thinking about how great the sixpack ads were with just a subtle right-hand sidebar of ads..... I completely forgot about the reason I got that ad-blocker to block those video as at the bottom that would play non-stop..... outta sight outta mind, i guesss

 

[Maroon Eagle]

$25 a month would be closer to the actual subscription cost which doesn't take into account the fact that their articles are archived after 2-3 weeks, and you'd have to pay more to access older articles.</p>

 

[codeDawg]

It surprises me the lack of creativity going on in newspapers transition to online. The guys that are going to make it are the ones that are already thinking beyond their traditional geographic boarders.

Local news will always be important and something people will pay for, but why do we have to pay for the same national and syndicated garbage available in thousands of other outlets? I get it in the print form, but online it is too easy to just go find it elsewhere.

I the the Clarion Ledger would be better served by buying every local paper in the state it could get it's hands on and making everything except the local news and local ads from the same templates. You could significantly reduce your overhead by employing regional journalists and consolidating departments like classifieds, obituaries, current online implementations, etc. while still providing local coverage.

The Commercial Appeal does a similar thing for regions of Memphis (Southhaven, East Memphis, Downtown, etc.).

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Geez... That's a steal there.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Last year, the Clinton News ceased print publication (but it's still available online) because it was too expensive for Gannett to publish.

 

[Arthur2478]

No, absolutely not. The only section I pay any attention to is the sports page. It never contains anything that is "news" to me. Everything in there I have seen or read about from the afternoon/night before via internet and/or television. Print media is a tortoise in the world of hares. I'm not going to pay for something I already get for free.

 

[FlabLoser]

The CL is absolute ****. I would not pay for their reporting. There is zero chance of me buying their product.

Exhibit A: Just yesterday there was a very brief article online about a man getting shot (or maybe it was stabbed) in Brandon. Not a single word about where in Brandon, when, or what the circumstances are. Just a few sentences and out.

Exhibit B: Descriptions of criminals omit race. Never mind that skin color is one of the most distinguishing traits a person can have.

Exhibit C: Everything they do in sports is duplicated by other sources, usually for free.

Exhibit D: The 4-5 coupons that come in each Sunday paper barely make it worth the price of the paper. What happened to the days when there were about 100 of them in there?

 

[Beretta.sixpack]

I can't live without a newspaper....and its delivered at 5 am like clockwork

 

[Nugdawg]

the ripe old age of 41. I grew up in rural MS and I couldn't wait until the Clarion hit the gravel driveway as it was the only window I had to things such as MSU sports back then. When my parents divorced and my mom and I moved, the first thing I made sure of at our new house was cable tv and the Clarion.

To take old school further, when I got to State, my roommates and I would stop by the Library frequently to read all the papers they had on sticks in the periodical area. There was a newspaper from everywhere. It was newspaper geek heaven. I could even read my hometown daily paper and that made me feel at home before the days of internet.

So..I'm a dinosaur and I know that but my Clarion is on the driveway every morning bright and early. I hate Rick Cleveland, half the headlines, and other stuff, but it's my old shoe. And besides, what else would I do when I take my morning shat?</p>

 

[Rezpup]

a puff piece on Xena.

 

[jxndawg]

Two or three C-L higher-ups work out at my gym. From talking to them the consensus is that the newspaper biz as a whole was slow to respond to the rise of the Internet and they're getting their arses kicked now as a result. One of them told me that in hindsight they should've started asking for something like $2 - $3/mo to access the online edition years ago, but now people take it for granted, have more free choices, and would prob. balk at the idea. Another one told me that the only thing a paper like the C-L brings to the table any more is that they're the only print media that will pay somebody to cover local sports, city council meetings, etc.

For about 10 years I had the C-L's Fri-Sat-Sun subscription. Finally cancelled it about 5 yrs ago b/c the wife and I were reading everything online and throwing it away w/o opening it. I guess if I were looking to buy a car I might go pick one up to scope out the ads, but I'm cheap, so that only happens every 10 yrs or so.

 

[Guy From Gulfport]

Hope that fish wrap dries up.

 

[JxnDawg39211]

and just finished settling up from the previous 3 months, as well paying for the next 6 months of coverage to get me through the end of the year(about $120).

I am, however, going to be purchasing an IPAD at the end of the year for Christmas. I think when the IPAD is purchased my subscription to the CL will be over even though I am old school as well. I can eat breakfast in the mornings while scrolling through different sites getting that early morning news fix you crave before you start your day. I think the IPAD will also allow that morning shat to run more smoothly rather than taking a laptop to the bathroom with you.