Star-Telegram going behind paywall
#51
Posted 08 November 2013 - 07:20 PM
#52
Posted 12 December 2013 - 01:42 PM
Just found my last 15 Dec 12 comment above referring to Fort Worth Star Telegram subscriptions Jan 04 2013 to Jan 3 2014..
Now its a year later 12 Dec 13 and got my subscription renewal notice the detached preprinted stub reads
Start Date 12/20/13 and the Senior rate remains unchanged from last year.
That's about 15 days short. So I marked through the their date and included a copy of my last years statement.
Also the statement mentions something about Activating your household's digital access at http://star-telegram.com/plus ... guess that's the online flavor. No extra pricing shown. Maybe its built into the newspaper rate.
Dave still at
Visit 360texas.com
#53
Posted 07 August 2014 - 06:03 AM
I notice the paywall has been up for some time. Appreciate that at least one on this Forum sometimes includes links to both the Star-Telegram and the Fort Worth Business Press on his single post regarding the same or similar news report (because FWBP does not have a paywall, yet.).
One thing I think is unfair Internet-wise on the S-T website: There's no paywall barring links to advertising (wonder why? Duh...). Now, I'm not a newspaper sales--versus subscription revenue expert, but doesn't some of that advertising revenue adhere to S-T? And, if so, why is S-T penalizing Internet surfers who want to read one of their news articles when that same reader may be indirectly subsidizing the on-line newspaper by responding favorably to a particular ad or two on the website?
One last observation on this point...you can freely pick up a discarded physical newspaper (even today's edition) and read articles, yet you're prohibited from doing it on-line because there's no such thing as a discarded newspaper there. Except maybe the archives (but you have to subscribe to that, too!).
- djold1 likes this
#54
Posted 07 August 2014 - 02:01 PM
#55
Posted 19 September 2014 - 11:34 AM
Turn off Java in your browser settings. Paywall pop-up won't load anymore but you'll need to turn it back on when you are done if you want other pages to load properly.
#56
Posted 23 September 2014 - 10:08 PM
The Star-Telegram contains so little news these days that more and more I find myself going to the Dallas Morning News for my local news.
The Morning News coverage of the questionable votes by Wendy Davis while on the city council left me wondering why the S-T never mentioned it.
#57
Posted 02 October 2014 - 06:00 AM
Though not an IT expert, I'm guessing that the Star-Telegram's paywall is raised when you are Web-technically recognized as a return reader. I've observed that when I go away for awhile and then come back to S-T, they'll allow me to access an article or two, then the paywall comes up. Also, I've observed that if I use another Web browser, S-T will treat me as a new reader. Of course others, such as your bank, may want you to verify your identity if you link onto them with a browser you haven't been using.
#58
Posted 02 October 2014 - 08:14 AM
#59
Posted 10 December 2014 - 10:43 AM
Has anyone else noticed that the "Barnett Shale" blog on the Star-Telegram's business page has not been updated since August? There has certainly been a lot of news about that slice of the local economy and more news about about international trends that affect it. I am not sure if Jim Fuquay is still with the company (can't really call it a "paper" anymore with the evolving state of media outlets can you?) as the last post was by Steve Kaskovich, and since then silence.
I would prefer to see the scope of the blog expanded to "Energy" and not just the Barnett. While the shale phenomenon is certainly an important local issue, there is also news to discuss about wind farms, solar developments, "grid" happenings, technical innovations, pipeline controversies, and international trends that do or will affect all energy users in the area.
Hello S-T! Are you there?
#60
Posted 10 December 2014 - 11:09 AM
I'd like to see it be about more than just the Barnett, but the powers that be at the S-T have historically only cared about the Barnett (and the benefits they've gotten from it).
--
Kara B.
#61
Posted 10 December 2014 - 12:11 PM
#63
Posted 11 December 2014 - 12:11 PM
I think it looks much, much better. It looks like a fairly modern website rather than a how-many-multi-color-dancing-ads-can-we-fit assault on your eyebones.
There is plenty of room for them to add the words "Fort Worth" to the banner.
How's the content?
#64
Posted 12 December 2014 - 07:31 AM
I like the new website layout, too. I'm guessing the paywall will remain lifted for awhile as a means of attracting readers, and also because it's the holiday season.
#65
Posted 12 December 2014 - 08:36 AM
I like it too. It's very similar to the style and layout and many of the major news outlet websites like CNN and NBC News. There's definitely no paywall for now, but I did notice that they offering online access for $1 per month. I'm not sure if that's new.
One other change: I have been using the local news section on the AP app for the iPhone to read full stories from the S-T for free. It was one way around the paywall. Since the redesign, the full stories are now pared down to the first line in the article followed by a link to the story on the S-T site. It was good while it lasted.
#66
Posted 30 December 2014 - 07:41 AM
When is a paywall "half" a paywall? Or, more literally, a paywall that you can see through? I've noticed that S-T articles can still be read but they are "veiled" by a blue filter. I guess it's a paywall of sorts, or maybe it's like the amber traffic light before the light turns red.
#67
Posted 20 September 2015 - 09:50 AM
There seems to be a real problem with the Star-Telegram's news desk, at least for the online version. I have noticed for a few weeks that old news stories just stick around on the "Fort Worth News" page, up to a week or more after they have become irrelevant. Today the "Dump the Trump March Planned for Monday" was a featured story, even tough the event was last Monday, almost a week ago. The zoning definition story is 10 days old, as is the Police Chief Forum story. New items added seem to end up somewhere beneath the old stories... Is this just laziness? Has the paper laid off so many news employees they are unable to maintain the pages? Is this only for the online version? I am going to get a paper copy today to see if that is the case.
Perhaps there is just a lack of "new" news in Fort Worth, but I doubt it. The coverage of local events and things that "should" be of importance to residents seems remarkably spotty and inconsistent. Is this a reflection of the readership? Do people just not care? I am not generally a conspiracy theorist but an uneducated public plays into the hands of a certain political / social mis-information element. Maybe there are not enough reporters left to uncover what is going on. It seems that about a third of the "news" items are sports stories. Fort Worth doesn't even have a professional sports team outside of an on-again off-again hockey presence, but sports has a higher profile than civic developments, local and state politics, development, business news... you get my drift.
Is there a reasonable online alternative that provides local coverage that is more up-to-date and more focused on "hard news" than the S-T? I look at the lead stories in the "Weekly" and while they are often in-depth and provide relevant coverage of important issues they are also interspersed with fluff and are necessarily selective in what is covered. The "Business Press" is poorly organized and hard to read, and I can't bear the editorials; highly slanted, almost as bad as the drivel spewed by S-T writer Richard Greene. What do other forumers do to satisfy their local news appetite.
- McHand likes this
#68
Posted 20 September 2015 - 03:01 PM
. What do other forumers do to satisfy their local news appetite.
KERA Morning Edition & All Things Considered. While they cover more Dallas stories, they always cover big Fort Worth stories, like the recent selection of a new superintendent.
Voice & Guitars in Big Heaven
Elementary Music Specialist, FWISD
Texas Wesleyan 2015
Shaw-Clarke NA Alumna
#69
Posted 20 September 2015 - 03:57 PM
#70
Posted 02 April 2016 - 01:30 AM
#71
Posted 19 June 2017 - 08:50 PM
I've noticed over the past couple of weeks that the paywall is back in force after mostly being gone since the November election (I think they advertised that it would go away in the interest of offering comprehensive coverage for everyone). Gone is the login screen where you can somewhat read the article in the background. There's now a hard redirect screen that takes you back to the homepage. So far, I've been able to get to any article I want to see by accessing it via their Facebook page or searching for the story on Google News.
#72
Posted 08 August 2018 - 03:38 PM
Going for the trifecta of consecutive posts. The S-T's home page is sporting a new look today. Not really much different, just a little more boxy and perhaps a little more modern looking. It's a mess on the out-of-date version of IE on my desktop.
#73
Posted 12 May 2021 - 12:03 PM
It's happening to more and more newspapers that publish online. What I find most annoying is that you browse a website like CBS.com or MSNBC.com and click on a major newspaper-published article that appears on that website. You can't read the article because of that newspaper's firewall (aka subscription box). The New York Times is a good example. Locally, in Texas, it's almost every major newspaper, including the Star-Telegram.
I know online subscriptions are an inevitability on account of continuing losses in circulation. But, to me, it goes against freedom of the press. At a time in our country's history when we most urgently need access to the mainstream media, much of the media itself blocks us unless we're willing to pay them so much a month.
#74
Posted 12 May 2021 - 12:46 PM
Johnfwd, another way to look at it is that before everything was online, if you wanted to read an article in the newspaper, you had to have a paid subscription to it. Of course, back in those days, if you didn't have a paid subscription, you could go to a library, visit a friend or a neighbor, visit a restaurant, etc., where you could find a copy of the newspaper laying around that you could read for free. Even then, those business establishments did pay for the newspaper subscription.
What does bother me is that these websites list all of these other websites where they do have paywalls. There may be 3 or 4 different links to similar articles, yet you can't read anything because of the subscription fee. I have a subscription to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the New York Times. That is about all I'm willing to pay for online access to the news. I might be willing to pay for another one or two, but I can't see myself having multiple paid subscriptions to newspapers.
- johnfwd likes this
#75
Posted 13 May 2021 - 07:13 AM
I'm beginning to fear this is a trend on the Internet itself. Of course we've been spoiled because of the World Wide Web's formative years (circa 1996 to 2008, is my guess) when it was more "liberal" in the sense of free access to information. Lately, not just online newspapers are putting up the barriers to access. It's happening to the old Internet dot-com players like CNBC, MSNBC, etc. Fortunately, most of this is restricting by having you sign-up for live streaming or special access news without paying a monthly fee. But I think the eventuality is having to pay for online access. Just the other day I read or heard that Facebook might begin doing that.
I'm not against restricting access via sign-up to become a member so long as you don't have to pay a fee. Facebook, Twitter, etc., are still less restrictive in that sense. in this category, I include this forum among a lot of diverse membership-based online groups that have emerged over the past few years. I hope information (by that I mean constructive, not destructive) remains as free to access as possible for the good of our democracy.
#76
Posted 13 May 2021 - 07:49 AM
This site will remain free as long as I can afford to keep it running. If that time comes, that I can't afford it, then I will probably ask for donations, instead of a subscription. However, that could change depending on the economic conditions at the time.
- txbornviking likes this
#77
Posted 13 May 2021 - 09:09 AM
I would certainly donate to read the Fort Worth Forum. I would not pay a wooden nickel to read the Star-Telegram in its current state. Unless you're interested in restaurant code violations or middle school sports, there's not much there there anymore. It has utterly failed the Fort Worth region in the delivery of any meaningful, unbiased local news in my opinion. I get more from Culturemap Fort Worth, or Fort Worth Magazine, or even Fort Worth Business Press than the once terrific, now lousy Star-Telegram.
#78
Posted 13 May 2021 - 09:17 AM
I know online subscriptions are an inevitability on account of continuing losses in circulation. But, to me, it goes against freedom of the press. At a time in our country's history when we most urgently need access to the mainstream media, much of the media itself blocks us unless we're willing to pay them so much a month.
I would really like to hear you explain this better. By that logic, are newspapers charging for print copies, which has occurred for what, 200+ plus years, violating the first amendment? Or cable news networks? That just seems like an odd point. And even if newspapers are charging for online subscriptions, you can still get news for free via an over the air antenna and a tv. You're right, we've been spoiled. I just have a hard time seeing how someone jumps to the conclusion that offsetting the cost of producing online material presents an ethical, moral, or legal dilemma.
- johnfwd likes this
#79
Posted 13 May 2021 - 10:41 AM
I would certainly donate to read the Fort Worth Forum. I would not pay a wooden nickel to read the Star-Telegram in its current state. Unless you're interested in restaurant code violations or middle school sports, there's not much there there anymore. It has utterly failed the Fort Worth region in the delivery of any meaningful, unbiased local news in my opinion. I get more from Culturemap Fort Worth, or Fort Worth Magazine, or even Fort Worth Business Press than the once terrific, now lousy Star-Telegram.
idk ramjet, I have to voice a pretty strong counterpoint to some of that. The Star T has really brought on some great reporters covering some strong beats in the last 2-3yrs.
Luke Ranker has done a great job covering City Hall, TRWD, and local development.
Nichole Manna has written spectacularly as an investigative report on the criminal justice beat and on the struggles of east fort worth
Kailey Broussard does a great job covering all that she can in Arlington etc
Kaley Johnson has written some great stuff on her crime beat, especially during the past year regarding COVID and jails
Gordon Dickson, who has been with the Star T quite awhile still does a strong job covering transportation related issues as well
#80
Posted 13 May 2021 - 11:39 AM
I would certainly donate to read the Fort Worth Forum. I would not pay a wooden nickel to read the Star-Telegram in its current state. Unless you're interested in restaurant code violations or middle school sports, there's not much there there anymore. It has utterly failed the Fort Worth region in the delivery of any meaningful, unbiased local news in my opinion. I get more from Culturemap Fort Worth, or Fort Worth Magazine, or even Fort Worth Business Press than the once terrific, now lousy Star-Telegram.
idk ramjet, I have to voice a pretty strong counterpoint to some of that. The Star T has really brought on some great reporters covering some strong beats in the last 2-3yrs.
Luke Ranker has done a great job covering City Hall, TRWD, and local development.
Nichole Manna has written spectacularly as an investigative report on the criminal justice beat and on the struggles of east fort worth
Kailey Broussard does a great job covering all that she can in Arlington etc
Kaley Johnson has written some great stuff on her crime beat, especially during the past year regarding COVID and jails
Gordon Dickson, who has been with the Star T quite awhile still does a strong job covering transportation related issues as well
I pay for , gulp, the Dallas Morning News. The DMN seems to have a much more regional scope of coverage than the Star, especially in the business and real estate sections. I don't think I've read the Star-Telegram in over 15 years now.
#81
Posted 14 May 2021 - 10:41 AM
I know online subscriptions are an inevitability on account of continuing losses in circulation. But, to me, it goes against freedom of the press. At a time in our country's history when we most urgently need access to the mainstream media, much of the media itself blocks us unless we're willing to pay them so much a month.
I would really like to hear you explain this better. By that logic, are newspapers charging for print copies, which has occurred for what, 200+ plus years, violating the first amendment? Or cable news networks? That just seems like an odd point. And even if newspapers are charging for online subscriptions, you can still get news for free via an over the air antenna and a tv. You're right, we've been spoiled. I just have a hard time seeing how someone jumps to the conclusion that offsetting the cost of producing online material presents an ethical, moral, or legal dilemma.
I was really more concerned about the Internet becoming more restrictive as to access than about newspapers themselves. You're absolutely correct that newspapers charging subscriptions is not an infringement on freedom of the press. Particularly so, since "free riders" could access the same newspaper when copies of it are left on a restaurant table or in a dentist's office. Because we've been spoiled by free access to information via the Internet, I was just reacting to the slow evolutionary restrictions being imposed by online newspapers via the firewalls. Maybe it's an over-reaction from a person too stingy to pay a monthly subscription fee.
- JBB likes this
#82
Posted 17 May 2021 - 11:41 AM
I would certainly donate to read the Fort Worth Forum. I would not pay a wooden nickel to read the Star-Telegram in its current state. Unless you're interested in restaurant code violations or middle school sports, there's not much there there anymore. It has utterly failed the Fort Worth region in the delivery of any meaningful, unbiased local news in my opinion. I get more from Culturemap Fort Worth, or Fort Worth Magazine, or even Fort Worth Business Press than the once terrific, now lousy Star-Telegram.
idk ramjet, I have to voice a pretty strong counterpoint to some of that. The Star T has really brought on some great reporters covering some strong beats in the last 2-3yrs.
Luke Ranker has done a great job covering City Hall, TRWD, and local development.
Nichole Manna has written spectacularly as an investigative report on the criminal justice beat and on the struggles of east fort worth
Kailey Broussard does a great job covering all that she can in Arlington etc
Kaley Johnson has written some great stuff on her crime beat, especially during the past year regarding COVID and jails
Gordon Dickson, who has been with the Star T quite awhile still does a strong job covering transportation related issues as well
This is a good example of some of the strong reporting and writing coming from the Star-Telegram these days.
It discusses our council-manager type of government. What that means, how it came to be, it's strengths and weaknesses.
Discusses how our type of local government compares with other cities our size both here in Texas and across the county. And as we have runoff elections in June for mayor and city council it asks what exactly we can expect from our elected leaders vs those hired into their positions of power.
https://www.star-tel...e251032029.html
#83
Posted 18 May 2021 - 09:58 PM
You're right, that was a good article. Inexplicably I was able to read it without being stopped by the paywall.
- txbornviking likes this
#84
Posted 17 June 2021 - 05:02 PM
If you've kept up with him on social media, this is no surprise. Luke Ranker is leaving the Star Telegram to pursue a degree in urban planning.
https://twitter.com/...587514094755848
- txbornviking likes this
#85
Posted 24 June 2021 - 07:50 AM
I just realized after listening to her last episode of "Out of the Cold" that Deanna Boyd left the S-T in 2019 to go work at THR as a Content Specialist. Per her LinkedIn page, she had been with S-T for 24-years! Her contributions will be missed. Not that its any of by business, but it sort of makes me wonder what happened at S-T, if the news business has been hit really hard with revenue issue or perhaps internal politics have gotten bad. I suspect perhaps these type of jobs don't pay as well as one would expect. It's sort of like how (some) school teachers are treated...highly educated, articulate, extremely knowledgeable on a variety of subjects, but generally under-compensated for the job they do and the amount of effort required to do it. Maybe someone else knows more about what's happening?
https://www.linkedin...a-boyd-9573748/
https://twitter.com/...erp|twgr^author
#86
Posted 29 November 2022 - 05:14 PM
#87
Posted 30 November 2022 - 10:15 AM
Was not aware of the FWST strike. Thanks for this info.
We cancelled our FWST subscription. Annual 2022 $434.00. Annual 2023 $783.00.
Our Social Security income did not increase much. Can not afford FWST.
Dave still at
Visit 360texas.com
#88
Posted 30 November 2022 - 11:24 AM
That's a big jump in subscription price. I had heard the The Social Security Expansion Act could give seniors an additional $200/month in addition to the COLA increase, which the last one was 5.9% according to this article:
https://www.yahoo.co...-145812838.html
#89
Posted 30 November 2022 - 01:15 PM
Their paywall has been interesting lately. I have had almost no trouble accessing any articles in the last couple of days, including the Worth Hotel photo feature that John posted that was behind the paywall.
#90
Posted 30 November 2022 - 01:26 PM
Their paywall has been interesting lately. I have had almost no trouble accessing any articles in the last couple of days, including the Worth Hotel photo feature that John posted that was behind the paywall.
The only thing I can figure it is must be a "give and a take" situation. If they shut the faucet off completely, people just abandon it altogether and advertisers get far less ad views, but then they give you a couple free articles a month then shut your IP address off. I also wondered if certain content is completely inaccessible, I know some of the premium content had a little padlock icon by it but not seeing that currently and perhaps it is a seasonal effort to attract new subscribers sort of like how HBO was free all Thanksgiving Weekend. Every now and then the Incognito trick still works or you'll get one view of an article but if you go back to read it again it paywalls you. I think also resetting your IP might be another way to reset the freeview.
#91
Posted 06 December 2022 - 11:33 AM
I am unable to log into my account at all, it just goes straight to an error page. Anyone else experiencing this?
#92
Posted 06 December 2022 - 11:41 AM
I was not having any issues. I was able to fully access the site.
#93
Posted 06 December 2022 - 05:02 PM
There was a McClatchy worker strike protest in the West 7th area during the lunch hour today.
#94
Posted 06 December 2022 - 05:48 PM
I believe they've been protesting there pretty regularly since the start of the strike.
#95
Posted 07 February 2024 - 03:27 PM
It's gone now, but the 3rd story under the "Latest" section near the top of the homepage was something along the lines of, "Is it legal to give a police officer the middle finger? Here's what Texas law says." That's the kind of hard hitting news being reported by the newspaper serving the 13th largest city in the country.
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