another reason why the Star Ledger is losing money

Yes, I still subscribe to an actual paper. I like reading the comics at breakfast and supporting local journalism. On Sunday March 1st my Star Ledger did not arrive. This was not unusual. I tried to register a complain online but the website directed me to call customer service, which had closed for the day, so I sent an email.

Turns out that my subscription had lapsed. They had mailed a notice in December that my credit card had expired. I'm 99% certain that I went online and updated the information. I didn't receive any more notices so I didn't worry. Believe it or not, the charge on my card at the end of December paid for February.

When I canceled my NY Times subscription because my now husband also subscribes I received a number of special offers via phone and email. I still receive email offers from the Times.

Have I heard from the Star Ledger? No. There has been no effort to regain my business. They have my email but have only used it to provide access to the electronic version during snowstorms.

You would think they would reach out to a lapsed subscriber. No wonder they are losing money.

WSJ sends me reup offers three times a month. Those guys know how to run a business.

Ever try to suspend for a vacation with the Star Ledger? They usually keep delivering and still credit your account.
What a way to do business.

I used an alternative news delivery service for years because the Ledger always flubbed that side of things, before finally deciding to pull the plug on the whole paper.

I once and for all canceled the Star-Ledger when they suspended my account because my card was expiring at the end of the month in question. It was the beginning of the month and I hadn't received a new card. They told me to contact my credit card company--in this case my bank--and get a new card or they couldn't continue my subscription. I told them to cancel it.

Btw, I did call my bank. They were bewildered why they wouldn't accept a valid card. It was months ago, but I still get electronic delivery. One more Ledger fail...

I just suspended my Star Ledger subscription for vacation with little effort, no problem and the exact dates requested.

hankzona said:

I just suspended my Star Ledger subscription for vacation with little effort, no problem and the exact dates requested.

But you're Mr. Perfect! How are we supposed to compete with that?

I have never had a problem with the Ledger-when I lived in Maplewood-when we moved to Union County and now at the shore. My paper arrives in every kind of weather and it is always wrapped to protect it from the elements-no matter where I lived. I use the automated service to suspend for vacations and that has always worked like a charm. I love the ledger-miss some of the old time columnists but would never cancel. That is my story and I am sticking to it!

marylago said:

hankzona said:

I just suspended my Star Ledger subscription for vacation with little effort, no problem and the exact dates requested.

But you're Mr. Perfect! How are we supposed to compete with that?

stop...you're embarrassing me.

They still print the Star-Ledger?

I subscribe to the digital version via the app via iPad--It's $11/mo and I love it.

Doesn't NJ.com offer all the same content for free?

I read some newspaper content online but I have a preference for holding onto an actual newspaper, while they exist.

bak said:

I subscribe to the digital version via the app via iPad--It's $11/mo and I love it.

As I said up thread, I had the electronic version included in my paper subscription. When I canceled the paper one, they never discontinued the digital version.

There is an advantage to them to still have the subscribers, as part of their circulation numbers for advertisers. So that could explain why they are slow to cancel subscriptions, especially digitally which doesn't cost them actual hard costs to distribute.

Here is another reason the Star Ledger is losing money: it is a newspaper.

the only reasons why I continue with the Star Ledger in Print;
-coupons
-I like taking a ipad/iphone/laptop/desktop break to read the paper
-there is something 'old fashioned' about reading an actual paper in the morning

note, I am not discussing the lame content, nor the mediocre reporting or the horrid entertainment sections, I am just talking about the physical reasons to read print.

The last time a colleague said to me, hey, you read that article in the Star Ledger today? Was, well, never.

I am a long-time reader of the SL, but since it changed hands last year the quality has plummeted. It's a shame. I like it because it covers NJ news and sports. Is there somewhere else to get that news?

Their sports section sucks. Years ago it was great but if you have any interest in college sports you are screwed. Best thing I ever did was cancel.

I keep subscribing as long as they keep paying reporters to dig deep into NJ politics and corruption. I have yet to find any other organization with the depth and will to dig into the nitty gritty of how New Jersey is run (and misrun). So I subscribe as a public service.

I subscribe in print because I like scanning the whole paper, don't like doing it on my PC screen, and (as important) because the coupons subsidize the cost of subscription for me. Might switch to the Thursday to Sunday print, all days electronic, version one of these days (when they release an Android version, or when I get an IPad of my own).

SOSully said:

but since it changed hands last year the quality has plummeted

Star-Ledger has been owned by Advance Publications and the Newhouse family for many decades. Last year, it sold its building and moved operations but ownership did not change.

Irvington_Pirate said:

Their sports section sucks. Years ago it was great but if you have any interest in college sports you are screwed. Best thing I ever did was cancel.

Yeah I couldn't go without the S-L sports section in the 1990s, maybe a smidge into the 2000s.
It is pathetic now, as it seems the writers are all 23-year-olds making $30K. Nothing against them and I'm sure some will go on to bigger and better things, but you need experienced (and by extension, reasonably paid) writers to make the articles worth reading.

Agreed - as a high school teacher I used to appreciate the quality of their sports coverage. Now I go to the Alternative Press instead. My friend's son, who is 24, is one of the Ledger's sports writers.
Given some of the questionable actions by our county and state politicians we need serious journalists who work at the local level. That was one reason I continued to subscribe, even when the quality dropped drastically.
Its been over a week - still no attempt to regain my business. Meanwhile I've received special offers from the NY Times and the New Yorker as I do every week or so.

Parenthetically, both the NY Times and LA Times just changed their model from the long time one where reporters pitch ideas and fight for front page stories, to one where they instead fight for prime digital locations with the front page of the print edition just being a secondary event that flows from being chosen for a prime digital spot.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2015/03/los-angeles-times-reorients-for-digital-203742.html

But they are just statist mouthpieces anyway.

Student_Council said:

Irvington_Pirate said:

Their sports section sucks. Years ago it was great but if you have any interest in college sports you are screwed. Best thing I ever did was cancel.

Yeah I couldn't go without the S-L sports section in the 1990s, maybe a smidge into the 2000s.
It is pathetic now, as it seems the writers are all 23-year-olds making $30K. Nothing against them and I'm sure some will go on to bigger and better things, but you need experienced (and by extension, reasonably paid) writers to make the articles worth reading.

I would even be willing to accept that to a point as everyone has to start out somewhere (though sadly the Star Ledger has become the grade school level of professional journalism). However, my interest is high major Division 1 athletics and they do not cover that anymore. They cover high school sports (quality there has plummeted as well) and some pro stuff but the college coverage is abysmal or non-existent and only getting worse.

A few days ago I sent an email to the Ledger stating my opinion that the subscription department is making a mistake in not reaching out to lapsed subscribers. I recommended using email instead of mailed reminders and also noted that people do not want to be called. What did someone from the Ledger do yesterday? They called me. I haven't listened to the message yet, but this morning there was a copy of the Star Ledger in my driveway.

Compare their high school coverage to even 4 years ago and you'd find that they no longer really cover anything. They told me they are now on a "state wide" footing instead of county centric. what a joke.

And yet I continue to subscribe because I think we need a new jersey newspaper.

They only email me.