In response to questions
In response to recent comments regarding my announcement of the coming change to our main Web site.
Our main Web site (www.maderatribune.com) is intentionally not updated at the moment, but up until the most recent two months it was updated daily. During that time the news was deliberately delayed by a day so as not to compete with the print edition of the newspaper. Occasionally Web site glitches would delay it longer.
The new upcoming Web site is with a professional service that handles subscription news sites for many newspapers. Because it is not a free site it will be published with the same regularity and timeliness as the printed edition of the newspaper. Whether online or not, paid subscribers have a right to expect us to fulfill our obligations to them. We have, and will continue to do so, to the best of our ability regardless of changes in technology along the way.
And yes, features such as the advice columns, horoscopes, daily comics, television schedules, classified advertising and so on will be included in the online newspaper.
Thank you for comments.
I am very confused to why maderatribune.com is going to begin charging for on-line access. I feel that this is a step backwards. There are many on-line newspapers that do not charge for their services. Why step back - - when you can continue in the direction of progress? I feel that the residents of Madera county is not an economically strong community that would be willing to pay for the service, therefore only making it accessible to a few and the news should be for everyone.
I personally think that the Madera Tribune going to a “paid subscription” website format is S-T-U-P-I-D. You guys are out of your ever-lovin’ minds.
MANY mainstream news sites are free on the internet, and are updated HOURLY, if not quicker; CNN, FoxNews, ABCNews, even the New York Times website is free. For you to continue to require people to pay for local news is simply another symptom of the “small-town” mentality that pervades the Tribune’s business department, as well as the money fixation that a lot of Maderans seem to possess.
By moving to a professionally maintained service, you ARE displaying the desire to grow. If you really WANT to enter the 21st century, don’t charge people for something that they should otherwise have free and unfettered access to! The news, as it affects Maderans, should be just as accessible as state, national and world news is on the information superhighway.
I can see a 24-hour delay in getting the “fluff” items online, so that it makes the whole endeavor worthwhile. BUT! Important, breaking news items should go up as fast as you get the friggin’ copy, especially if it’s impacting the populous directly.
I am a native of Madera. I live in Merced. Would I subscribe to your website? He - -, no. I can find out what’s happening in Madera through other channels. Besides that fact, I have been quite dismayed at the Madera Tribune’s lack of editing and proof-reading skills as of late. (You’ll notice that, even for a candid, straight-forward correspondence, there are ZERO misspelled words here. If I can accomplish this MANUALLY in an e-mail, your “professional” staff should at least be able to master the latest assistive technology in writing; spellcheck!)
Improve the quality of your writing, get rid of the one-sided, “let’s kiss the city and county governments’ collective arses” reporting, and bring us REAL, honest and concise news of what’s happening in Madera, and I MIGHT type in your URL more often. Otherwise, I’ll stick to Fox, CNN and many more reliable sites for my news.
On a related note, I was also more than slightly bugged by the fact that, even though your print paper carried it, my grandmother’s obituary does not appear on the website. (She passed away last Sunday evening.)
WEBMASTER’S NOTE: My condolences on the loss of your grandmother.