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I must say I was appreciate of the free content that the Observer had been providing regarding COVID-19. So much so that I was actually considering subscribing.
But I don't think I can justify $15.99 a month for it. I know that may not be "a lot," but compared to the many subscription services out there, IMO it is. Even compared to other newspapers. After some quick searching it seems higher than most any other paper I see. And much bigger papers seem to be offering discounts right now - such as the Washington Post for $29 for a year (and even only about $8/month after that), and the New York Times for $48 for the first year (but $17/month after that).
Any chance the Observer will do a sale like that?
Now to add insult to injury, it seems they have stopped the free coronavirus coverage.
The Observer is owned by bankrupt McClatchy Company which has set a $15.99 a month price for all of their regional newspapers nationwide. Unlike the more prominent nationwide newspapers like the Post and NY Times, McClatchy just isn't making enough on ad revenue to lower the subscriber price and the whole company is a mis-managed mess (currently searching for a buyer to help them get out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection).
The Observer is offering a sale through Groupon for a 52 week digital subscription for $40 right now. That's the best deal I've seen right now for The Observer: https://www.groupon.com/deals/mcclatchy-nat-charlotte
The Charlotte Observer is so biased I just can't give them any of my money. I was a subscriber for years until it got so blatant I wasn't willing to overlook it anymore.
I have found that WSOC, WBTV and WCNC (online) have all the local news I need and it's free!
The Charlotte Observer is so biased I just can't give them any of my money. I was a subscriber for years until it got so blatant I wasn't willing to overlook it anymore.
I have found that WSOC, WBTV and WCNC (online) have all the local news I need and it's free!
True, same goes for WP, NYT, USAToday, etc...just political propaganda where former journalists have been replaced by political hacks.
Even without the biased, the newspapers are dinosaurs in today's internet world.
Bias issues aside,the Observer has cut entirely too much content. Only 2 sections a day, very little national news, and no more Saturday edition. And now due to the decline in ad revenue as a result of the coronavirus, the expanded Sunday edition has cut out 3 large sections of news, but remains overpriced at four dollars. The paper is still delivered for sale at Publix and Harris Teeter in Greenville and Spartanburg, but does not sell substantially like it used to. Not enough SC news is reprinted from the Columbia State paper, their sister McClatchy publication as was previously the case. And no longer enough expanded national content. Often the Greenville News and Spartanburg Herald Journal now have more content than the Observer, as they were recently merged and enjoy larger revenue support from parent company USA Today and Gannett. Who also now owns the Gaston Gazette. McClatchy needs to find a stronger buyer and revenue partner such as Gannett or some other media company, as they are suffering due to bankruptcy. And this includes the Raleigh, Durham, Columbia, and Miami papers among others.
But the daily E-edition has excellent expanded content in the online Extra edition included with your digital subscription. But this is the detailed solid content you want to see in the daily print edition, but sadly this is no longer the case.
Is the ad revenue really down? When they were offering the coronavirus articles for free, I’d be willing to bet they had their most traffic ever, which I would think would lead to more advertisers...
Is the ad revenue really down? When they were offering the coronavirus articles for free, I’d be willing to bet they had their most traffic ever, which I would think would lead to more advertisers...
GoPhils and tylerSC - I used to subscribe to the Charlotte Observer print edition until about 3 years ago by which point, the Monday and Tuesday editions were about the same thickness as the Food Lion ad. I stopped it and got the online WaPo through being an Amazon Prime member at $10 a month. The e-edition of the Charlotte Observer is just too pricey. I use Adblock Plus on my browser so I rarely see an ad. On the Bergen Record online edition (my old NJ paper) which I also subscribe to, the Adblock Plus eliminates about 90% of the ads, so the paper is at least readable without the endless ads and pop-ups.
It's sad to see newspapers going the way of floppy discs, but Facebook and its ilk has sucked all the ad revenue out of the system so only the "crumbs" are left to print media. All the "cookies" are on your computer. The ad money chases internet eyeballs which are much cheaper.
Oh well, papyrus did away with stone tablets and iPads and laptops have replaced the Morning & Evening newspaper.
The Observer is owned by bankrupt McClatchy Company which has set a $15.99 a month price for all of their regional newspapers nationwide. Unlike the more prominent nationwide newspapers like the Post and NY Times, McClatchy just isn't making enough on ad revenue to lower the subscriber price and the whole company is a mis-managed mess (currently searching for a buyer to help them get out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection).
The Observer is offering a sale through Groupon for a 52 week digital subscription for $40 right now. That's the best deal I've seen right now for The Observer: https://www.groupon.com/deals/mcclatchy-nat-charlotte
Thank you for the Groupon info by the way...will look into that!
The Observer is owned by bankrupt McClatchy Company which has set a $15.99 a month price for all of their regional newspapers nationwide.
The Raleigh News & Observer is part of McClatchy, correct? Oddly it seems they still have free coronavirus but the Observer does not (actually not sure what's going on with the Observer, seems like sometimes it lets you read the Coronavirus updates but most of the time recently it doesn't).
The Raleigh News & Observer is part of McClatchy, correct? Oddly it seems they still have free coronavirus but the Observer does not (actually not sure what's going on with the Observer, seems like sometimes it lets you read the Coronavirus updates but most of the time recently it doesn't).
I've found exactly the same thing. I get notifications from the Charlotte Observer and when I click on the referenced article, I can read about a paragraph before the subscription ad comes up. That sure doesn't make me want to spend $15.99 a month. With that cheapskate attitude, their new building will end up as another condo conversion in a few years.
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