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Free is still the best deal
A letter from the publisher, Derek Dunn-Rankin, as published in the Sun Feburuary 09, 2003.
Free is the best subscription price in the world. Regular viewers of our Sun Web site proved it this week. After six years, Sunline's pioneer Sun Web site has asked viewers to register to access any of the thousands of pages on our Internet site. At the rate of a thousand a day, viewers did just that. Even at free, not everyone was happy about registering. We received about 100 e-mails and as many phone calls questioning or protesting the change.
Let me assure those coming to the Web site we have no intention of selling the subscription list to anyone. The individual information is confidential. We have never shared our newspaper subscription information with others. When asked from time to time, our answer is always the same: "No way, no how."
We will not be adding to viewers' uninvited e-mail spam. We see benefits from registration to both viewers and our company. Before addressing viewer benefits, here are a few business reasons for the change.
Let me tell it like is. Newspapers like ours have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars creating content for this new media. Larger papers like the Washington Post, Tampa Tribune and Dallas News have each spent millions. No one has yet figured out just how to pay the ongoing costs. Early attempts to charge a subscription price in places like San Jose and Atlanta were unsuccessful. Only the Wall Street Journal, with several million online subscribers, has been able to start recapturing its investment losses. We are hopeful that when advertisers see the numbers and demographics of our registered online viewers, they will consider reaching them worth serious advertising dollars. Just as cable TV has a pay-per-view business, at some future date I believe newspapers will be able to charge fees for special features, for example, to search their archives or to copy certain pictures. If that happens, newspapers are likely to make the information free to newspaper subscribers and charge those who are getting a free ride by viewing local news and advertising on the Web. A good response of advertisers to the demographics of our registered viewers may make that unnecessary.
For the benefit of our Web viewers, we see an immediate opportunity to use the information from registrations to add and change content to match viewer interests. We knew there was a large audience for our local classifieds on the Web. When people are vacationing or traveling, the Internet is a convenient place to keep up with local news and weather. The first 7,000 to register told us their Web interests. Real estate, sports, travel, boating and fishing topped the list. These were followed by pets, automotive, home improvement, music, outdoor activities, computer technology and employment, in that order. Sounds like most viewers are reasonably satisfied with their jobs. That is not because most are retired -- only 7 percent of those registered said they were 65 or older. The largest age group was those from 45 to 55. The retirees who make up more than 7 percent of our population have not been slow to take to the Internet. I suspect, relying on the wisdom of their years, they are a bit more cautious about answering the registration questions. Those 18 and younger were just 2 percent of the 7,000. Registered viewers are split equally between men and women.
The Internet is very good at counting, and we know that more than 200 started the registration process and quit before completing the short form. Relax -- we will respect your privacy. Free is still the best deal in town.
By DEREK DUNN-RANKIN
Publisher
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