Thursday, October 12, 2006

Is It Just Me Or....Duh

This morning I was trying to look up my hometown's newspaper online to read a story that my mother suggested I read. I found the site, found the article....clicked on the article to view the entire story and it asked for my login!?! What? I know the Minneapolis Star-Tribune allows access for a limited time before logging in, but ultimately you can make a generic username and password and it's not a big deal. This isn't the case here...

I have to subscribe to the actual paper in order to have a username and password. The site allows you to purchase the subscription online.......but what the???

If I had the newspaper coming to me weekly (yes, it's a small town!) why would I view it online? It's not exactly a paper that you can't read in one sitting. I understand the convienence factor...at the office, want to see what Meals On Wheels is serving today.... totally makes sense! Do you sense my sarcasm??

It can't exactly be a revenue factor! If you subscribe to the paper you get the online subsciption for free.....and how many people are signing up for a subscrition soley to use the online version....Um, None?! You can even purchase just the online subscription....for damn near the same price as the real version.

They need to learn how to better utilize their advertising...and like other online papers I've read, have additional sections to draw readers in. But to pay for the service...that's just not right!

It's days like this that I wonder if I'm insane or just really really logical.....maybe a little of both!

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