Participated in a ZOOM meeting with Hunter a year or two ago and I think she said the print schedule is late afternoon, ridiculous for a daily morning publication. I remember well the morning Register and the evening Tribune - I loved dealing with them in my pr role. What I wouldn't give for one edition of the (Sunday) Peach sports section. David Weiss
David, it sure seems more like it’s late afternoon. But early evening is what they said. Regardless, it’s clear print is not a priority anymore. I don’t take the actual print copy anymore but I always look at the digital e-edition because I want a sense of what’s on the front page, what’s played deeper in the paper, what the letters to the editor were. Now editorials only two days a week. And clearly front page vs back page is just not relevant anymore.
Several things come to mind: many old readers (I’m one of them) “like the feel of the paper in their hands” (I’m not one of them), “bigger is always better” (no it isn’t) and just plain corporate greed.
Also, the printed editions are expensive ($90+ per month), when compared to the ENewspaper versions ($13/month). Plus, there is a Saturday electronic edition.
I'm an older Iowan but subscribe to no print newspaper edition. Digital publications are timely and adequate for my needs. If the DSM Register didn't publish the DeSantis-Trump story, what did the newspaper consider more important that actually did appear in the early editions. By the way, I don't know why the mayor news networks such as CBS and NBC continue to claim "Breaking News" on their early evening newscast when in fact the events happened hours earlier and many viewers--including me--already know the details? For you who watch ABC News, I'm interested it that broadcast does the same thing.
Steve, the breaking news strategy is probably worthy of a full column some day. TV types (like me) use it because it grabs viewers’ attention. Many outlets overuse it. I know the now departed head of CNN, Chris Licht, went into the job vowing to back off all the breaking news hype.
My gawd! The editor can't answer simple questions such as those regarding news deadlines! All media inquires must go through corporate?!!! I'm so glad I'm out of the industry. By the way, the Kansas City Star is printed in Des Moines; The Columbus Dispatch in Indianapolis, the Cincinnati Inquirer in Louisville. But I can't understand why The Register's deadlines are so early. Readers at least deserve an explanation.
Right. A relatively new policy. I will say Carol responded right away that she would get my questions to the communications folks and they did answer my questions in a timely manner, even if it’s corporate-speak. So I appreciate the response.
I asked if the KC Star being printed in Des Moines affected the Register deadlines, and Gannett said it does not.
How things have changed. As an aging boomer, I miss the days when newspapers were such a vital part of our lives. During my childhood years the better portion of our family Sundays was devoted to enjoying reading and discussing the newspaper, with it's news, commentary, features and comics. For many years I collected and saved newspapers during my travels and major national and world events. It was always eye opening to see what news was given priority in other parts of our country and in foreign countries. I remember being shocked at the sensational and graphic photos and very pointed political cartoons that were the norm in Central American newspapers. I remember being delighted by the local columnists during the years when I regularly read the San Francisco Chronicle. Now digital news is much more immediate and I have pretty much quit saving print editions of anything but the most significant event stories. It's sad that most newspapers have devolved into a less important part of our lives by not keeping up with the times. Adapt or become irrelevant is the lesson, but it may be too late for anything but eventual extinction of print newspapers as a source of timely quality information.
so true re the stable of columnists the Chron used to publish - the walking Caen (Herb's just to the left of the Macy's ad), the curmudgeonly Charles McCabe (here's to the Rainier Ale eye-opener at Gino and Carlo's), Art Hoppe, Stanton Delaplane (the father of Irish Coffee in the US), the society page's Pat Steger, even the perpetually misogynistic Count Marco
Dave, I am very grateful for your column, as well as articles like this I see on Poynter.org, because, quite frankly, most newspapers and newspaper companies don't tattle on themselves when they cut back publication dates or lay off staff. Or they sugar coat it. A rare exception came when I was at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier in 2008 when we started printing out of town and, consequently, laid off the press room and mail room -- including, coincidentally, the son of a former publisher. It was a front page story and I did a follow-up feature on our pressroom foreman, who'd been there many years.
After the Des Moines Tribune's demise in the '80s, the Courier was the last afternoon paper of any size in the state. I surmised it worked in Waterloo because we had a lot of John Deere workers who went in early and were getting off first shift when we hit the streets. We got 9-11 coverage in that day's paper -- and turned around a special edition the next day.
But that was 2001. With out-of-town printing -- first in Cedar Rapids at the Gazette's Color Web Printers, and now down around the Quad Cities near Lee Enterprises headquarters -- deadlines got pushed further and further back. At one point I was going to work at 2 a.m. when the downtown bars were closing. I told that to a ex-Marine friend who ran an ad agency in town, and he said. "I used to only get up that early to go home!"
Pat, as a broadcast journalist, I’m just hard-wired to get stories out as quickly as possible. In my radio news days, the deadline was always the top of the next hour. In the digital age, I could clearly see web traffic would surge and stay with whichever news site broke a big story first. Readers VALUE immediacy. They want to know what’s happening RIGHT NOW. Accuracy comes first but speed is important, too.
having returned to DSM after 25 years away, it is sad to see how the Sunday Register is just a shadow of what is was. Seems to be a rehash of the week's events, and mostly advertising, though it is notable how few ad inserts are part of what's on the doorstep.. The least Gannett could do is spring for this week's NYT Sunday crossword, instead of giving us the puzzle from 2 weeks back. The Sunday LA Times puzzle is current, so we know it is possible. Resurrect the Kaul of the Wild for more than just RAGBRAI.
Bob, I’m the same. Two kids in their 30s and one just hit 40. Grew up in a home where we read papers, watched the news each night and debated issues. They are well-informed. Up on current events. They will NEVER pay a subscription to a local paper and they wouldn’t watch a TV newscast at knifepoint.
What was the last big story you remember seeing for the very first time in the print edition of the newspaper on your doorstep? I think it might have been Princess Di’s death. I can still hear my husband, opening the door of our apartment, looking at the paper and saying, “Oh my God! What a tragic twist of fate.!”
Most all other huge stories, I read about online.
I miss those days — of opening the door and getting a blast of new news.
But … I do really like the e-edition of the newspaper. It’s very easy to navigate and so much cheaper than the print edition….
Just some random thoughts that came up while I read your piece! Thanks, Dave!
Winnie, I think the last time I was surprised at a front page headline while standing on the front porch was in 2012 when the Iowa GOP leaked to the Register that Mitt Romney won the Iowa caucuses a week prior. That year, the Republicans had a bad night counting votes and didn’t get a final for about a week. I was so steamed. The results of the caucuses shouldn’t have been given exclusively to one reporter. Long story, but that’s probably the last time.
Sadly, Dave, the quote from Marty Baron is on target. The indicator of the death of print came to me five or so years ago when I read that the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was supplying free iPads to rural Arkansas residents if they would switch to the internet and cancel the print paper! I could write a similar lament as your Register saga about the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I only get the Saturday and Sunday print editions and read online the other days. It's not a good experience, as I like the way papers are organized on dead tree. Finding stories online takes a lot of work!
Like you, probably, I grew up with the Globe in the morning and the PD in the afternoon. I have a digital subscription to the Post to get my Cardinals fix. Since I don’t live there, it’s hard for me to tell if the coverage is any good. But I just look online and don’t download the e-edition, so don’t know if print is as much of an afterthought as it is here in Des Moines.
No, it shouldn’t take three days…. Except media is now all…business, not news. I well remember the DM Register….award winning news…and miss it too.
One of the ten best papers in the US when I moved to Iowa in the 70s.
Participated in a ZOOM meeting with Hunter a year or two ago and I think she said the print schedule is late afternoon, ridiculous for a daily morning publication. I remember well the morning Register and the evening Tribune - I loved dealing with them in my pr role. What I wouldn't give for one edition of the (Sunday) Peach sports section. David Weiss
David, it sure seems more like it’s late afternoon. But early evening is what they said. Regardless, it’s clear print is not a priority anymore. I don’t take the actual print copy anymore but I always look at the digital e-edition because I want a sense of what’s on the front page, what’s played deeper in the paper, what the letters to the editor were. Now editorials only two days a week. And clearly front page vs back page is just not relevant anymore.
Several things come to mind: many old readers (I’m one of them) “like the feel of the paper in their hands” (I’m not one of them), “bigger is always better” (no it isn’t) and just plain corporate greed.
Also, the printed editions are expensive ($90+ per month), when compared to the ENewspaper versions ($13/month). Plus, there is a Saturday electronic edition.
All good points, Larry. I dropped the print edition when they kept ratcheting up the price every few months.
Thanks Dave. It is sad for sure. Somehow it helps just reading about it. Cathartic.
Great observations, Dave. The print deadlines have made little sense to me for quite some time. Ugh.
I'm an older Iowan but subscribe to no print newspaper edition. Digital publications are timely and adequate for my needs. If the DSM Register didn't publish the DeSantis-Trump story, what did the newspaper consider more important that actually did appear in the early editions. By the way, I don't know why the mayor news networks such as CBS and NBC continue to claim "Breaking News" on their early evening newscast when in fact the events happened hours earlier and many viewers--including me--already know the details? For you who watch ABC News, I'm interested it that broadcast does the same thing.
Steve, the breaking news strategy is probably worthy of a full column some day. TV types (like me) use it because it grabs viewers’ attention. Many outlets overuse it. I know the now departed head of CNN, Chris Licht, went into the job vowing to back off all the breaking news hype.
My gawd! The editor can't answer simple questions such as those regarding news deadlines! All media inquires must go through corporate?!!! I'm so glad I'm out of the industry. By the way, the Kansas City Star is printed in Des Moines; The Columbus Dispatch in Indianapolis, the Cincinnati Inquirer in Louisville. But I can't understand why The Register's deadlines are so early. Readers at least deserve an explanation.
Right. A relatively new policy. I will say Carol responded right away that she would get my questions to the communications folks and they did answer my questions in a timely manner, even if it’s corporate-speak. So I appreciate the response.
I asked if the KC Star being printed in Des Moines affected the Register deadlines, and Gannett said it does not.
How things have changed. As an aging boomer, I miss the days when newspapers were such a vital part of our lives. During my childhood years the better portion of our family Sundays was devoted to enjoying reading and discussing the newspaper, with it's news, commentary, features and comics. For many years I collected and saved newspapers during my travels and major national and world events. It was always eye opening to see what news was given priority in other parts of our country and in foreign countries. I remember being shocked at the sensational and graphic photos and very pointed political cartoons that were the norm in Central American newspapers. I remember being delighted by the local columnists during the years when I regularly read the San Francisco Chronicle. Now digital news is much more immediate and I have pretty much quit saving print editions of anything but the most significant event stories. It's sad that most newspapers have devolved into a less important part of our lives by not keeping up with the times. Adapt or become irrelevant is the lesson, but it may be too late for anything but eventual extinction of print newspapers as a source of timely quality information.
so true re the stable of columnists the Chron used to publish - the walking Caen (Herb's just to the left of the Macy's ad), the curmudgeonly Charles McCabe (here's to the Rainier Ale eye-opener at Gino and Carlo's), Art Hoppe, Stanton Delaplane (the father of Irish Coffee in the US), the society page's Pat Steger, even the perpetually misogynistic Count Marco
Dave, I am very grateful for your column, as well as articles like this I see on Poynter.org, because, quite frankly, most newspapers and newspaper companies don't tattle on themselves when they cut back publication dates or lay off staff. Or they sugar coat it. A rare exception came when I was at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier in 2008 when we started printing out of town and, consequently, laid off the press room and mail room -- including, coincidentally, the son of a former publisher. It was a front page story and I did a follow-up feature on our pressroom foreman, who'd been there many years.
After the Des Moines Tribune's demise in the '80s, the Courier was the last afternoon paper of any size in the state. I surmised it worked in Waterloo because we had a lot of John Deere workers who went in early and were getting off first shift when we hit the streets. We got 9-11 coverage in that day's paper -- and turned around a special edition the next day.
But that was 2001. With out-of-town printing -- first in Cedar Rapids at the Gazette's Color Web Printers, and now down around the Quad Cities near Lee Enterprises headquarters -- deadlines got pushed further and further back. At one point I was going to work at 2 a.m. when the downtown bars were closing. I told that to a ex-Marine friend who ran an ad agency in town, and he said. "I used to only get up that early to go home!"
Pat, as a broadcast journalist, I’m just hard-wired to get stories out as quickly as possible. In my radio news days, the deadline was always the top of the next hour. In the digital age, I could clearly see web traffic would surge and stay with whichever news site broke a big story first. Readers VALUE immediacy. They want to know what’s happening RIGHT NOW. Accuracy comes first but speed is important, too.
having returned to DSM after 25 years away, it is sad to see how the Sunday Register is just a shadow of what is was. Seems to be a rehash of the week's events, and mostly advertising, though it is notable how few ad inserts are part of what's on the doorstep.. The least Gannett could do is spring for this week's NYT Sunday crossword, instead of giving us the puzzle from 2 weeks back. The Sunday LA Times puzzle is current, so we know it is possible. Resurrect the Kaul of the Wild for more than just RAGBRAI.
Some days I'm reminded (anecdotally) that I have 3 children in their 40's and none of them has looked at a newspaper in years.
And then I wonder: if a good bakery used to sell 2,000 donuts a day, but now only sells 1,000 a day, - can it still make a good donut?
To the Register: doing less is a poor excuse for doing what you do less well.
Bob, I’m the same. Two kids in their 30s and one just hit 40. Grew up in a home where we read papers, watched the news each night and debated issues. They are well-informed. Up on current events. They will NEVER pay a subscription to a local paper and they wouldn’t watch a TV newscast at knifepoint.
What was the last big story you remember seeing for the very first time in the print edition of the newspaper on your doorstep? I think it might have been Princess Di’s death. I can still hear my husband, opening the door of our apartment, looking at the paper and saying, “Oh my God! What a tragic twist of fate.!”
Most all other huge stories, I read about online.
I miss those days — of opening the door and getting a blast of new news.
But … I do really like the e-edition of the newspaper. It’s very easy to navigate and so much cheaper than the print edition….
Just some random thoughts that came up while I read your piece! Thanks, Dave!
Winnie, I think the last time I was surprised at a front page headline while standing on the front porch was in 2012 when the Iowa GOP leaked to the Register that Mitt Romney won the Iowa caucuses a week prior. That year, the Republicans had a bad night counting votes and didn’t get a final for about a week. I was so steamed. The results of the caucuses shouldn’t have been given exclusively to one reporter. Long story, but that’s probably the last time.
Ooohhh. I can see why that would get you steamed — and why you’d remember it so vividly!
Sadly, Dave, the quote from Marty Baron is on target. The indicator of the death of print came to me five or so years ago when I read that the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was supplying free iPads to rural Arkansas residents if they would switch to the internet and cancel the print paper! I could write a similar lament as your Register saga about the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I only get the Saturday and Sunday print editions and read online the other days. It's not a good experience, as I like the way papers are organized on dead tree. Finding stories online takes a lot of work!
Like you, probably, I grew up with the Globe in the morning and the PD in the afternoon. I have a digital subscription to the Post to get my Cardinals fix. Since I don’t live there, it’s hard for me to tell if the coverage is any good. But I just look online and don’t download the e-edition, so don’t know if print is as much of an afterthought as it is here in Des Moines.
Interesting conversation. Sadly, things we say we like but don’t actually support or pay for anymore, like newspapers, will die.
Thank you for this! Dropped the Register many years ago, because of this and being triple charged.
This is spot on and thank you for writing this!!!!