News-Herald to publish weekly in
print
Beginning in February, the News-Herald
will become a “digital first” news
operation that will publish news and
information daily on
www.news-herald.net and in print on
Wednesdays.
The final weekend print edition of the
News-Herald publishes Jan. 24-25.
The change is necessary to direct more
newsgathering resources to the digital
operation of Loudon County Publishers,
which produces the News-Herald, The
Connection weekly newspaper, the
quarterly Loudon County Magazine, two
websites and numerous other specialty
and niche print publications.
Since a redesign early last year,
the News-Herald’s website at
www.news-herald.net has
experienced rapid and sustained
growth in readership and revenues.
“With more and more readers
accessing News-Herald content with
their mobile devices, tablets and
computers, it was inevitable that
print frequency would be reduced,”
Steve Meadows, News-Herald editor
and publisher, said. “But what we’re
actually projecting is that our page
count will increase 30-40 percent
for that single weekly print
edition, offering our print readers
a more robust midweek print
newspaper.”
Readers migrating from print
newspapers to digital publications
isn’t a new trend in the newspaper
industry. Numerous other newspaper
companies across the nation have
reduced the frequency of print
newspapers in order to give digital
segments of the business more
resources.
“Simply put, when given the choice,
many of our readers are gravitating
toward the digital side of our
business,” Meadows said. “Face it,
most people today have a smartphone
or tablet, and many of them like the
simplicity and convenience of
getting their news that way. If
we’re going to continue serving our
community the way we must, then we
have no choice but to adapt to a
changing marketplace.
“Local news is our focus, and we
believe readers in this community
still want to know what is going on
in Loudon County and how it will
impact them,” he added, “but the way
we deliver that news is certainly
evolving, and we need to be more
responsive.”
Coinciding with the change is the
use of a new press to print the
News-Herald and its sister paper,
The Connection, which is a weekly
newspaper produced exclusively for
the lake communities near Tellico
Village. Both newspapers will now
offer full color on every page.
“Our advertising customers have
wanted more color availability for
many years, so this change in
publishing frequency created an
opportunity for us to use a press
that could offer more color and
considerably better quality,”
Meadows said. “We’re excited about
our new print facility, and we know
our readers and advertisers will see
a big improvement in quality of the
product that lands on their front
porch on Wednesdays.”
All subscribers to the print version
of the News-Herald will receive
unlimited access to the digital
newspaper at
www.news-herald.net and will in
the near future through a special
partnership get a digital
subscription to The Washington Post
at no extra charge.
The cost of a home delivery
subscription will not change, but
the single-copy price of the
News-Herald will increase to $1 with
the Feb. 3 edition.
“We understand that adjusting to
change can be challenging, but we
also know that we must make this
change now so that Loudon County
Publishers can remain financially
strong and focused on the task of
providing local news and information
in an evolving market,” Meadows
said. “We’re committed to being the
community newspaper of record for
the Loudon County community today,
and well into the future, and this
positions us in such a way that we
will be able to do that.”
For questions or comments, contact
Meadows at 865-986-6581 or by email
at
steve.meadows@news-herald.net.