We got our renewal statement for the Rocky Mountain News. Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions …
First off, ouch. The Rocky is trying to get us not only to renew (and, sorry, no more Sunday Only option, it’s Every Day Or Nothing), but what they’d love us to do is, rather than sign up for a year, just give them our credit card number and let them charge us indefinitely, without these pesky annual reminders.
Riiiiiight.
Oh, we get a $5 gift certificate to Safeway if we do that. Yippee. And we can conveniently add in a monthly tip to our letter carrier. (Sorry, when it was some kid on a bike delivering the paper each morning and coming to the door to collect the money, yeah, then I could see a tip. When it’s some guy in a car driving up and down the street at 4:30a — thwap … thwap … thwap — then not so much.)
The problem is …
We read the paper, really once a week, on Sundays. It’s part of our Sunday post-church brunch ritual.
The paper sometimes comes in to be read if Margie or I are lacking anything better to do. And Margie does clip coupons, sometimes, from the Wednesday paper. Or is that Thursday?
Is that worth $3/mo?
The other time the paper gets heavy usage is when the ‘rents are here. That’s both a more relaxed sit-around-and-read-the-paper time, and both my folks and Margie’s are more heavy paper readers than we are.
But most of the tiime, for me, I read the paper online. For, yeah, free.
If there were a charge for online access? Yeah, I’d probably pay it, if it were reasonable. If it were the same cost as the monthly sub? Yeah.
But the Dead Tree edition? The net difference between the value I get from it vs. the cost, the hassle of suspending it when going on vacation, and the hassle of traipsing down the driveway to pick it up and throw it in the recycle bin, is pretty close to zero.
Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions.
The New York Times has a similar “perpetual option” (which, given it is your only choice, ain’t much of an option). You can, however, limit yourself to weekdays or weekend or Sunday only.
Given my wife’s addiction to the crossword puzzle, we subscribe daily–but a lot of the paper goes unread (something about this great time-sucking internet thing…).
The Times offers a lot (maybe all) of it’s content online at this point. But, it’s a hilarious cost, and you don’t get a break for being a “deadtree” subscriber. I was told (get this) that they are two different companies…
What, the online version steals the deadtree content? Come on, folks, what ever happened to “synergy” and all that?
And I thought the local paper was small time. Not only to they bill every other month (although you can pay for larger chunks at a time), you can still have Sunday only delivery.
Also, I can imagine that you often leave before the paper arrives which means you can’t take it with you.
Actually, the paper is usually there before I go. Which means I have to bring it in, of course.
When I was taking the bus downtown, I would read most of the paper. Now — well, like I said, I hit the Opinion section on Sundays and that’s about it.
I gave up on the whole paper delivery thing after several attempts to get what I wanted when I wanted it. Off and on over the years I subscribed to the RNM. They would lure me in with the “Free-Papers-for-life-except-for-weekends” offer. It was a good deal because the paper never arrived by 6:30am (except for weekends, and who is up at 6:30am on weekends anyway?!). After several years of this getting the paper for free really didn’t matter if it was sitting out on the deck all day getting snowed/rained on.
Next I was offered Weekends. This was great since I didn’t have to go find a box o’ papers in the morning, and sometimes weekends meant every day except Wednesday. Then two years ago the RNM decided that they weren’t going to offer weekends only in Boulder County any more, but they would guarantee that the paper would get there by 6:30am again. After one week of that “Guarantee” not really working out, I cancelled it.
Paper reading is much better now that I’ve found a box that still charges .30 cents instead of the usual .50 cents, and is there by 6:30am.
And Dave…You don’t read the Comics on Sundays? I mean that’s the best thing to do after getting your blood pressure up after reading the OP/ED pages.
I do read the comics. Online. That way I get what I want, don’t have to extricate it from the ads, and can easily “clip” them and forward them on to folks (whether they want it or not).
Margie suggested last evening that I check out the Denver Post (which, on the weekends, is basically the same paper as the Rocky). They do indeed offer a weekend-only deal. In fact, you can get the Sunday-and-Holidays-only deal for $30/yr, or the Friday-Saturday-Sunday-and-holidays deal wot $29.95.
Huh?
Anyway …
That does sound like the way to go.
A nickle less for the friday and holiday editions.
Easy decision that.
Ok…
If they are the same frelling company why don’t they off the same weekend deal?
Just curious…
*grin*
Ok…After looking at both of the sites (and yes the subscription page goes to the same page for both). They both have the same weekender offer at $29.98.
Gotta love monopolies.
The relationship between RMN and DP is … odd.
But …
Hmmm. Interesting. The online subscription form for the Rocky has the same options as for the DP. So there is weekend-only service available there — just not on the renewal form I got in the mail.
Mutter mutter mutter …