The Journal Star rolled out their very first paper featuring articles that appear in print at least a day before hitting the website. The idea is to differentiate the printed product from the web product, and offer paid subscribers some benefits free web surfers don’t get.
So what stories did subscribers get that web-only readers didn’t? These three:
- Only three times since the World War I and II Memorial was dedicated in 2007 have memorial pavers been offered for sale. Only 600 remain, so get yours before they’re gone.
- In light of the recent wave of violence, Peoria police have temporarily reinstated a gang intelligence position that was cut as part of sweeping cost saving measures.
- Peoria students’ artwork will appear on Illinois Department of Transportation calendars. KJS
Of those three, only one is an actual news story. The memorial pavers is a glorified advertisement. The Kids Journal Star (KJS) artwork is typical refrigerator gallery fare — not something you’d rush out and buy the paper to see. So really, there was only one news story that was held back from the web this morning.
As a subscriber who favors “First in Print” in concept, all I can say is: “big deal.”
Based on today’s content alone, it appears to me that “First in Print” is a Gatehouse Media directive, and the powers that be at the Journal Star aren’t too enamored with the idea. So they’re designating mostly fluff stories as “First in Print” so they can tell their corporate bosses they’ve complied with the directive, while at the same time not actually adding any value for subscribers. If they really wanted to add value, they’d designate “Word on the Street” (in fact, they’d designate all their local columnists) as a “First in Print” article.
Perhaps it will get better tomorrow. But for Monday, June 28, I’m unimpressed.
sorry PJS, but i wont be losing any sleep tonight knowing i could have read those three stories a day earlier.
I’ve been thinking. With the ability to get everything in the PJS online for $12 a month, they ought to just just put a few articles up for free, just enough to whet the appetite for news. Then double the price of the paper edition. There are some luddites who would rather die that read news online. Let THEN pay through the nose.
How’s that online business going for you Billy?
The concept of the Internet is free information.
I just don’t think charging for it – or creating gimmicks like “first in print” – make good business sense.
Advertising is and will always be the primary source of income for news gatherers. I am willing to slog through annoying ads to read the news online. I don’t have cable so watch Colbert and the Daily Show online. I have to watch an ad first. No big deal to me.
BTW I like my print edition of the paper. Larger photos, slower pace, fewer clickable distractions. I spend too much time at the computer as it is and my neck already thrashes in defiance.
I do, however, pay a minimal fee for some online information – like the Chicago Manual of Style and AP Stylebook that I use for my work. I also have the print versions but am willing to pay for the ease of e-searching and I do appreciate that these sites that I rely on for quick access to work-related information don’t slow things down with ads.