When Readers Speak...

As we reported earlier, some newspapers are eliminating their Monday editions to save money. The Anniston Star decided to keep theirs, but to reduce the size to "tabloid" and to refocus the editorial content as a "look-ahead" to the coming week. The jury is still out on the latter change, but the former bombed. Readers hated the tabloid size. So one month later, The Star will go back to a full-width in its "Jump-Start" edition on Monday, June 15th. Says Editor Bob Davis: "format is less important that content. Our future will be secured through improved content, read JOURNALISM!" The Star remains one of the few Alabama newspapers that requires a paid subscription to access all of the online material. Subscribers can see a full-digital version of the entire paper. The rates are here. Some journalism critics consider the act of offering a paper's information free online to be the "original sin" of the newspaper publishing mess we're in. So perhaps The Star is smart to hold the line, even if the profits right now are minimal.