Well, here we are again. FWST - Subscription renewal 2015
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We have kept all our newspaper subscription bills from 2000 - to date. Its a small file folder.
Observations:
Page 2 section A 'Published Subscription Rates'
Rates:
Daily and Sunday: $13.22/wk or $687.44 / year
Weds. thru Sunday $11.22/wk or $583.44 / year
Sunday and Weds $5.72 /wk or 297.44 / year
Daily and Sunday
Our bill last year $179.55 Senior Discount ( currently 73 ) Senior Discount is not published... but is offered when you call their accounting office.
Our bill this year $275.60
Star Telegram moved their billing office from Fort Worth to P.O. Box 3035, Livonia, MI 48151-3035 (Read not in Fort Worth or DFW area)
Noticed that our 52 week subscription has been reduced to 50 weeks or in affect 2 week gradual reduction each year over last 2 years or total 4 weeks.
Premium content or the over sized print section that came out today is the root cause. The print and include Premium content about 7 times a year. YOU pay for the content in terms of reducing your subscription from 52 weeks to 50 weeks. Notice that your 52 week subscription bill has been arriving a month earlier this year than last year. Notice also that the bill shows only the start date and no longer shows the Expiration date
The current subscription rate includes PRINT and ONLINE editions.
We did compare the PRINTed content with the ONLINE version on their public website. We used my wifes iPad, and Desktop computer and our Samsung Galaxy 5 smart phone.
Personal thoughts:
PRINT version is there in front of you an you can immediately select the section and page you want.. while sharing the paper with your wife. Print version lag's by 1+ day(s) current TV and website content.
ONLINE version, not all that is in the PRINT can quickly found on their public website. Online website seems to be deep linked with other news paper articles. Click a link in the star telegrams website and it takes you to the Seattle PI website article. Not all funny papers graphics in the FWST paper are in online version. When you click on one of the links... it takes you to another website to see the multi colored drawings. BC, WIZ, and few others I like are not shown in the FWST ONLINE website. ONLINE website Dear Abby is linked to what appears to be Dear Abby's website that is not formatted properly for the page... tiny print with left margin nearly falling off the left page edge.
Smart Phone: Android 5.0 font is easier to read, but there is a lot of scrolling and searching to find an article.
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Called Fort Worth Star-Telegrams Accounting office 800 - 776 - 7827 in Livonia, Mich. to discuss how we can best manage our 52 week subscription.
Talked with a polite lady named Sav_name removed_. I said I needed to (1) discuss our annual 52 week subscription; Why our 52 week subscription had been reduced by 2 months over 2 years ? (3) Did not want the ONLINE included in our bill amount. Yes, I did mention that my wife and I are 73 this year.
Results:
She offered Senior rate of $179.55 for 52 week subscription.
She said the premium content was included in this price and was only able to change our expiration date forward by 1 month.
She checked and found I had not signed up for the ONLINE version so that was a part of the reduced Senior rate.
I replied ... Thank you very much. I was pleased that IF we paid for 52 week subscription.. we wanted to find 52 weeks worth of papers on our door step each year. Personally we did not ask for nor contract for premium content. We were displeased by finding that the annual 52 week contract period keep being reduced. I said I would get a check out in the mail today. And I did so.
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