Press- Democrat Goes Pay Site
Damn. Knew it was going to happen sooner rather than later. Earlier this month the Santa Rosa Press- Democrat started charging to view stories and commentary on their web site. You get something like 15 free views a month(?) before the paywall kicks in.
So what did I do? I was going to see if I could handle the P-D the same way I ration my reading of the Los Angeles Times. I only read stories in the Times that really pique my interest and often pass on stories that I'd like to read just to keep under the free limit.
Read one story in the P-D this morning, then saw another one I wanted to read. I guess I went over the limit for this month and the paywall kicked in. I went ahead and paid for an online subscription. I'm already almost regretting it, but I do read their stories nearly every day.
That's gonna be it, though. With the Sacramento Bee and Press- Democrat, that's around $20.00 I'm paying each month for just two newspapers, never mind the Times- Standard. I'll be paying real money if I sign up for any more. The whole situation sucks.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 10:58 AM
11 comments
11 Comments:
You might go to the news sites run by television stations as they are free and post videos of their stories. www.kcra.com is a good alternative to the sacramento bee, although there is no way to comment on the stories posted on these sites.
just remove the cookies from your browser!
just remove the cookies from your browser!
The newspapers need money. If everybody sneaks in those sites won't even be there after a while.
You might go to the news sites run by television stations as they are free and post videos of their stories....although there is no way to comment
I do go to some TV sites but they don't have anywhere near the number of stories the regular news sites do. I'm also not really that much into videos. I watch them sometimes but if I wanted video I'd just watch news on TV. I prefer to read stories.
And commenting on the stories is much of the fun!
I avoid the paywall by accessing PD, TS and other pay news sites by having them on my Yahoo home page and accessing thru that! The only way the paywall comes up is if I click on the stuff that pops up when I read an article...but I just go back to the Yahoo page and no paywall!
Fred I agree with you on this too. I subscribe to the TS and NYT. I have never paid attention to the PD, but probably should as I shift my attention from national to local/state and national. Funds are limited, but I make up for them by not having cable, just ASIS and (unfortunately) AT&T, but the AT&T is for the land line only. Total monthly = $60 (ATT and ASIS for landline/internet) $21 for NYT and about $3 for the TS. I should add PD if you think it's important. (I can't get behind in the infowars) Monthly total is about $85 for communication/information/entertainment.
Thats it though - no netflicks, amazon prime, pandora, nothing. Internet, PBS, local radio, and broadcast sports is enough for me. Especially since we converted to digital broadcast. The quality of that is better than at least cable. KEET 13.1 broadcasts in 1080 HD vs 780?HD for cable HD right?
I'm not sure why I enjoy the Press- Democrat. Much of their news has little do with with Humboldt. Maybe I lived in Sonoma County in a past life?
Regardless, I enjoy reading much of their stuff. I nearly always disagree with their editorials, as you'd expect, but enjoy commenting on their stories and commentary. The one thing about the P-D is they're constantly putting out news and I can check their site during the day for new stuff.
As far as the Times- Standard goes, I got into the habit of reading the news on their web page instead of the hard copy. The wife reads the hard copy, though. Their web page since the "upgrade" has to be the worst news site I've seen. I hate to say it but if it were up to me I'd probably bail on the Times- Standard as I dread going to their web page to see if there's anything worth reading. Ugh!
I wrote here some time ago I was thinking of going to broadcast TV as I don't watch TV much. Except the wife does, so we're stuck with DISH Network. I'll admit I enjoy the shows I do watch but it would be nice to get rid of that TV bill each month.
I'm not sure what other news sites I'd be willing to subscribe to. Probably none. The problem would be what if all the news sites end up being pay sites? Then again, some like the S.F. Chronicle started a limited pay requirement but I understand they got rid of it for some reason. Maybe that's a good sign?
I agree with you on the TS site. That idea must have come from corporate - it's a disaster. I subscribe to the e edition which is great because with a tablet you can read the actual paper in pdf form. It's how I prefer to take in newspapers and it may be just my generation prefers it this way. No paper so the environment is happy and you get the added value of someone taking the time to format each page. Care is taken to which stories are most prominent and you still get to see the local adds and photos if you choose too. It works best with a tablet.
The TS better update it's online strategy. I don't know how much longer the paper is going to last. I can't imagine the books are looking promising.
That idea must have come from corporate - it's a disaster.
I doubt it, because all the other Media News Group pages, including the Ukiah Daily Journal, haven't changed.
My guess is it was a cost cutting measure. Maybe they got rid of whoever used to do the web page and had regular staff take it over??? I don't know.
I guess I should try the e- edition since even in the old web page format I'd something here or there than wasn't included on the main web page. Last time I tried the e- edition I couldn't log in.
Ooops! My mistake. I guess they whoever does the Times- Standard changed the Ukiah Daily Journal, too. I rarely go to the UDJ as I'm not willing to pay for something I read so infrequently.
I believe the San Jose Mercury News and some of the other MNG web sites haven't changed, though.
The UDJ, while looking the same as the T-S, doesn't seem to cough and sputter so much as the T-S site does.
It's difficult to navigate the e-edition at first, but once you get it, it's straight forward. Hit the e-edition from the drop down menu (under multimedia) sign in (can be difficult to figure out exactly what your log-on is) click the thumbnail button and then download all. Up to a month back is archived.
On my tablet I've found the best way to do this is with a pdf app like 'GoodReader'. Check it out.
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