Rudi Alcott, Sound Publishing Vice President
On Dec. 2, 2020, your local Courier-Herald will be making some changes to how your local newspaper is delivered. The Courier-Herald is being converted to a paid subscription newspaper just like our web and single copies editions currently are. This means that the home delivery copy you have been receiving will only be delivered if you have a subscription. Additionally, on this same date, your subscription will begin to be mail delivered instead of carrier delivered. You may ask why we are doing this and why make these changes now.
• The Courier-Herald produces a product that is worth paying for. We believe our news, sports and lifestyle coverage, our presentation of community photographs and local advertising are valuable to our readers. The time has come to test this belief in the marketplace.
• This is not merely a request for payment, but an invitation to subscribe – to enter a long-term relationship with The Courier-Herald and CourierHerald.com. We already know that our paid print customers have shown great loyalty to our product: More than 66 percent have maintained their subscriptions without interruption for two years; and 64 percent have maintained their subscriptions for three years or more.
• For the past several years, our voluntary-paid print subscribers have paid to support the news gathering that is in our printed version and posted on CourierHerald.com. This has allowed us to produce more local stories for both of our products. It is only fair to spread this cost amongst all the readers who value this content.
How does this help you – our readers?
• The Courier-Herald and CourierHerald.com is no longer the only way to get news of the Plateau. It has not been this way for many years; it’s just one among many but it is something that is yours. This cannot be said about the other types of news media. Our subscription model should strengthen your confidence that the Courier-Herald will continue to be robust and engaging and will continue as the primary news source for you now and in the future.
• It adds your name to our customer mailing list, which we use to communicate special offers, discounts, and opportunities to interact with Courier-Herald representatives.
• It allows you access to both the printed edition and website for one low price.
How does this help our company?
• It reinforces The Courier-Herald’s position as a premium brand on the Plateau.
• It introduces a pricing plan that is fair to the community and at a price point that helps us offset some of the costs of producing the news content and distributing it to your homes.
• It helps us better identify our customers, their habits, and preferences. This will improve our ability to write stories and provide advertisements that are relevant to the plateau market and to you as the readers.
• It creates a modest revenue stream that we have not previously had.
It is my hope that you will find these changes to be beneficial to you. Please do not misinterpret my intentions. I know asking you to pay for something that to the majority of you has been free up to this point is a tough ask especially when you factor in the pressures we all are under with a struggling economy during this COVID-19 pandemic. This is not lost on me and was a tough decision to make. However, I view my job as the publisher of this newspaper as a protector of the institution. I have always understood that even though this paper is a private company, you as the community are the ones that actually own it. It is your newspaper. I am simply the keeper of the keys. This ask is the only way to make sure that the institution continues, thrives, and survives.
Please take the time to go to courierherald.com/ech2020 to begin/renew your subscription. We have put together some great introductory rates for you during this period of change. Subscribing now will ensure that you continue to get the Courier-Herald delivered to you each week.
Please reach out to me should you have any questions at ralcott@soundpublishing.com.
