Does anyone else here subscribe to the Rag? We've had a seven day a week subscription for awhile, because I was offered a pretty decent rate quite awhile ago. We were paying $9.35 a month. We just received a letter that our rate is going up to $14.13 a month, even though when I signed up for the special rate they told me that I would keep it as long as I set it up on automatic payment. I called customer service and they wouldn't budge. I told them this helped make up my mind on dropping such a crappy paper, since I had been considering it anyway. No way I was paying $14 a month for a paper with decreasing content and an increasing far-left political agenda. Not to mention the Hawkeye bias.
Des Moines Register
- Thread starter jeff0514
- Start date
I know a lot of people on here don't like the Des Moines Register, but by doing this I'd have to think this hurts Des Moines as a whole. Having a citywide major newspaper is pretty important and I think a lot of papers are really struggling in this economny. I understand your situation, however I can't help but think $5 is not that big of a deal.
I was a journalism major for a while so I think a local paper has value, I would consider this if I thought they actually did some real investigative reporting into the corruption in this town as opposed to being functional advertising for the democratic party. I will never, ever pay for the Rag under any circumstances.
Thats a lot of money to be paying the something worthy of only butt wad and possibly campfire starting material. I haven't read that worthless paper for probably 4 yrs now and don't miss it one little tiny bit.
I agree that an effective daily is vital to any metro area. For me, it came down to my feeling that the Register was too out of touch with their readers (or at least this one). That and the fact that it seems that it is merely a compilation of AP stories with fewer and fewer local stories.
True, but it sounds like it's more the decrease in content/quality of content as opposed to the $5. I use to read the DMR all the time but there is not a whole lot of quality stuff in it anymore...
Pretty much just fill up my car at Kum & Go on Sunday morning and get the Sunday Rag for free. Usually don't get much beyond the sports section and ads. If we go out for breakfast, I'll peruse through the front section while waiting for food.
Otherwise, if something of interest is linked - I'll read it online.
Otherwise, if something of interest is linked - I'll read it online.
The Des Moines Register has gone WAY down hill since the 80's. They used to have the big peach. It was unique. Nobody else did it. I would grab the rag in high school and with one tug the sports section would come out of it. No searching. I knew it was peach. Also the far left politics in the rag drive me insane.
Especially Raka Basu and her mindless dribble.
Especially Raka Basu and her mindless dribble.
I'll be in the minority, but I mostly like the Register. I actually only get the Monday-Saturday papers and skip the Sunday. It's much cheaper and I buy the Sunday paper when I want it.
I like having an actual paper to read instead of just reading on the internet.
I completely agree that local papers help the area. However, the des moines register has completely lost touch with its readerbase. Pushing farther and farther left, away from iowans who are more moderate, firing local talents like Duffy while keeping on worthless columns like Basu. And of course, the hawkeye bias and constant sniping at the cyclones, even though ISU is just up the road from des moines, .
I subscribe. Like others indicated, there is value in having a local newspaper and quite frankly, it is a habit of mine to read it every morning.
I guess I've become numb to the left leaning headlines & editorial content because I haven't really noticed any shift. The Reg seems just as left as I always perceived them to be.
I think from a networking standpoint (especially amongst business associates/peers), it is important to at least scan the daily each day. I know for me personally, I find it annoying when someone can't small-talk or discuss an issues that has been fairly prominently covered by the local media. People shouldn't discount the impression left when you're not up on current events (local or otherwise).
I guess I've become numb to the left leaning headlines & editorial content because I haven't really noticed any shift. The Reg seems just as left as I always perceived them to be.
I think from a networking standpoint (especially amongst business associates/peers), it is important to at least scan the daily each day. I know for me personally, I find it annoying when someone can't small-talk or discuss an issues that has been fairly prominently covered by the local media. People shouldn't discount the impression left when you're not up on current events (local or otherwise).
You and I are on the same wave length, Daddy. Go to your local Kum & Go, fill up the car, grab the free Register, look through the sports and a few other pages of interest, toss it in the round file.
I would't read the Register if it were free. It is one of the worst newspapers. My biggest problem is that they half-*** it all the time. I do not learn anything new from the Des Moines Register that I do not get on the TV news, or read online. If it provided some additional depth/research/etc, then I would be more of a fan of it.
You must not read a lot of newspapers. They've all gone way downhill in the past few years because they're all bleeding money. They lose money, so they cut content, so people stop reading, so they lose money, so they cut content... I wonder how long it will be before the major dailies quit publishing dead tree versions, and just publish on-line.
I suspect their standards went long before the readership did. The Rekha Basu's of the world were hired when newspapers ruled the earth.
But using the "competition" excuse to explain why noone reads the newspaper anymore is their reason for continuing to suck.
For sure, competition is part of it, but look at when Basu was hired, and their shift from journalism to advocacy, and you'll see where the real problem is.
Newsgathering in the print media is just about dead. Just an example: I, along with a bunch of other people make a hobby out of exposing "fake" veterans. Our number one source of fakes is the print media. A newspaper runs a story about a decorated local veteran, who lots of times isn't even the right age for the b.s. story they tell. We then FOIA this dude's records, and give that to the reporter, and sometimes even the cops. Nearly 100% of the time, the reporter then disputes the facts and defends their story. Every once in a while, a reporter will get angry for being deceived and come down on our side, but generally not.
The thing is, the "story" is generally patently false, and a single phone call would've exposed that, but the reporter is too unskilled/eager/stupid to do their job correctly.
But that is the state of the print media, today.
But using the "competition" excuse to explain why noone reads the newspaper anymore is their reason for continuing to suck.
For sure, competition is part of it, but look at when Basu was hired, and their shift from journalism to advocacy, and you'll see where the real problem is.
Newsgathering in the print media is just about dead. Just an example: I, along with a bunch of other people make a hobby out of exposing "fake" veterans. Our number one source of fakes is the print media. A newspaper runs a story about a decorated local veteran, who lots of times isn't even the right age for the b.s. story they tell. We then FOIA this dude's records, and give that to the reporter, and sometimes even the cops. Nearly 100% of the time, the reporter then disputes the facts and defends their story. Every once in a while, a reporter will get angry for being deceived and come down on our side, but generally not.
The thing is, the "story" is generally patently false, and a single phone call would've exposed that, but the reporter is too unskilled/eager/stupid to do their job correctly.
But that is the state of the print media, today.
The readership for papers like the Register never went anywhere. Newspaper readership is at an all-time high, but the difference is that more and more people are reading the online version instead of the print.
One of the biggest mistakes that newspaper editors and publishers ever made was offering their content online for free and then not expecting their circulation to decline.
One of the biggest mistakes that newspaper editors and publishers ever made was offering their content online for free and then not expecting their circulation to decline.
