@BlogKCStill struggling to adapt to the times the KC Star is following up its latest round of journalist layoffs with a price increase. On October 19 the daily edition goes from 50¢ to 75¢ and the Sunday edition goes from $1.25 to $1.50. In summary, the layoffs and the price increase mean that consumers will be getting less product for a higher price.
This is all actually really sad news. The Star is still the single biggest source of news in the region, and we really do need great journalism to be a great city. Hopefully the Star will figure this out. I suggest they start by dumping their web site and starting over from scratch. Kansascity.com is one of the most cluttered and unusable newspaper web sites out there. A total redesign focused on solid usability would go a long way towards bolstering the entire operation.
The Star is raising its price
Because of rising transportation and newsprint costs, The Kansas City Star is increasing subscription and retail prices.
Home delivery increases vary slightly for different types of subscriptions, but none will exceed 41 cents per week. The average subscription will increase about 33 cents per week. The new prices will be effective with each subscriber’s next billing period and will appear on the next billing statement.
Customers who buy newspapers at retail stores or vending machines will see price increases on Oct. 19. The retail price for a daily paper Monday through Saturday will be 75 cents. The Sunday price in the five-county metropolitan area will be $1.50. The Sunday price outside the metro area, currently $2 per week, will not change.
The last day of my subscription will be the last copy of the newspaper I read. Between the cutbacks and the hypocrisy, I have had enough. It won’t be soon enough!
I agree about their heinous website. When they first rolled this out a year or so ago, I wrote to an art director (I believe,) who told me that their website template was ‘provided’ by the parent owners. While the designers didn’t like it (inferred,) there was nothing they could do; they told me to keep sending in my comments.
Internet FTW! Bye Bye printed paper!
All of The Star’s layoffs and outsourcing of local jobs to India hasn’t made the newspaper cost less, but it has made it CHEAPER.
William Rockhill Nelson’s paper is dead.
Printed paper is dead. And yes, while the .com isnt the best you can still load it up into an RSS reader and just get the articles…