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.