New Des Moines Register Subscription Model

[Clone83]

Looks like they are going to an online plan like what Warren Buffett did with the Omaha World-Herald.

Why you'll see some content marked 'for subscribers,' and why you should become one of them
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...ews-role-of-newspapers-free-press/1701319001/

5 digital benefits of a Des Moines Register subscription
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...register-digital-only-subscription/813681001/

The introductory rate is 99 cents a month for the first three months. If you are a print subscriber, however, you have full access without any additional fee, I believe.

I bet they can get a lot of national news types who cover the caucuses.

The only article I saw today where you had to be a subscriber to access was “The 41 Restaurants Des Moines Diners Miss the Most.”

If they are able to do what the World-Herald has done, which charges $9.99 a month, I believe (and I don’t see a lot of special deals) that would be a big accomplishment. If they want to step up their game in the sports department, they would probably need more articles like this:

Meet Dudley Blackwell, one of Iowa State's biggest recruiting priorities
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/iowa-state/bbmen-recruiting/2019/07

Peterson: Meet JaQuan Bailey; Iowa State’s best-ever defensive end is all grown up now
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...iley-isus-best-ever-defensive-end/1742085001/

Recruiting related articles in the Omaha World-Herald seem almost always premium.

It doesn’t seem like many on this site read the Des Moines Register, and I have pretty good access to news independently, so I doubt that I would subscribe.

There seem to be a huge number of Cyclone related articles, however, right now on their website, so I would encourage everyone to check them out. It seems intended to lure you in but many seem pretty good. You can do things like incognito mode, clear history, or use a different browser if you reach the article limit. None of the articles that I saw are yet part of their new subscription plan.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/

I’m not sure how many have already been linked on this site, and I guess many are media days related. But quite a few seem to have been posted in just the last 24 hours or so.

 

[CYdTracked]

Is that you Randy P?

 

[CloneinWDSM]

You couldn’t pay me the .99 to be a subscriber

 

[Clone83]

Is that you Randy P?

Let’s just say I’m playing nice.

Actually I would like to see more of what seems like better coverage.

 

[theshadow]

Actually I would like to see more of what seems like better coverage.

Well, it can't get any worse. This gem from Randy, in the Gundy/Purdy story:

"Iowa State had already won big with a backup quarterback (Joel Lanning at Oklahoma in 2017)."

Is he implying that Lanning was the backup to Kempt, and Lanning was responsible for the win? Or does he think that Lanning was the backup to Park, and started that OU game?

 

[Clone83]

Well, it can't get any worse. This gem from Randy, in the Gundy/Purdy story:

"Iowa State had already won big with a backup quarterback (Joel Lanning at Oklahoma in 2017)."

Is he implying that Lanning was the backup to Kempt, and Lanning was responsible for the win? Or does he think that Lanning was the backup to Park, and started that OU game?

I haven’t read them all. There are 2 or 3 more basketball related, that at least seemed informative. The basketball one I linked seemed good and like Iowa State has a decent shot with this recruit.

 

[Dr.bannedman]

ames trib is a better subscribe. des moines register is trash

 

[Walden4Prez]

I have to really question someone who would pay $ for the Rag.

 

[Knownothing]

Looks like they are going to an online plan like what Warren Buffett did with the Omaha World-Herald.

Why you'll see some content marked 'for subscribers,' and why you should become one of them
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...ews-role-of-newspapers-free-press/1701319001/

5 digital benefits of a Des Moines Register subscription
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...register-digital-only-subscription/813681001/

The introductory rate is 99 cents a month for the first three months. If you are a print subscriber, however, you have full access without any additional fee, I believe.

I bet they can get a lot of national news types who cover the caucuses.

The only article I saw today where you had to be a subscriber to access was “The 41 Restaurants Des Moines Diners Miss the Most.”

If they are able to do what the World-Herald has done, which charges $9.99 a month, I believe (and I don’t see a lot of special deals) that would be a big accomplishment. If they want to step up their game in the sports department, they would probably need more articles like this:

Meet Dudley Blackwell, one of Iowa State's biggest recruiting priorities
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/college/iowa-state/bbmen-recruiting/2019/07

Peterson: Meet JaQuan Bailey; Iowa State’s best-ever defensive end is all grown up now
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...iley-isus-best-ever-defensive-end/1742085001/

Recruiting related articles in the Omaha World-Herald seem almost always premium.

It doesn’t seem like many on this site read the Des Moines Register, and I have pretty good access to news independently, so I doubt that I would subscribe.

There seem to be a huge number of Cyclone related articles, however, right now on their website, so I would encourage everyone to check them out. It seems intended to lure you in but many seem pretty good. You can do things like incognito mode, clear history, or use a different browser if you reach the article limit. None of the articles that I saw are yet part of their new subscription plan.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/

I’m not sure how many have already been linked on this site, and I guess many are media days related. But quite a few seem to have been posted in just the last 24 hours or so.

I like a few sports articles. The news part of the paper is old news and I can get it off somewhere else for free. The rest is just opinion articles. I don't pay for someones opinions. We have enough everyday on facebook, CF, and other places.

 

[Clone83]

Here is an example of what I believe they also would want to consider premium content, ultimately if not right away.

In early April, on the Real Estate board, I linked these articles from the Register and one by the Omaha World-Herald:

It's official: Polk County home values have gone up at least 10 percent. Here's how you can protest.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...es-windsor-heights-how-to-protest/3331255002/

According to this article in the Omaha World-Herald, March 8, housing costs there have increased a lot since 2009/2011, but Des Moines (and some other cities), not as much.

Omaha's low cost of living was once its economic superpower. That's no longer true

https://www.omaha.com/money/omaha-s...cle_462d9d36-2497-545b-9c62-62e29dcece8f.html



I wonder if prices are increasing faster now in Des Moines.

PS: I’m pretty sure this article is not gated. If it is, let me know and I will post some other direct comparisons with Des Moines.

Another informative article from the Register:

Assessment shock: Iowans face sharp increases in home values, Register survey finds

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...ts-property-taxes-appeal-assessor/3374899002/


And another (linked there) on ag property:

Farmland assessments decline by as much as 35% in Iowa, but that doesn't mean tax bills will fall

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...erty-taxes-tax-bill-value-economy/3350678002/

The author of the first article, Kim Norvell, I see is an Omaha native and Iowa State alum. I don’t see the background for the author of the second, Donnelle Eller, but I’ve seen from past articles that she does a great job covering agriculture and related issues.

That is a huge thread; here is the initial post:
Property Tax Increase
https://cyclonefanatic.com/forum/threads/property-tax-increase.247180/

Those articles by the Register were directly on topic, and it is a hot topic.

Although these are in a way more “analysis” type articles, they seem mostly just reporting the law (which is complicated) and the facts. They aren’t the kind of “analysis” you might see where it can be more accurate to call it opinion. Anyway, similar to other articles I’ve seen Donnelle Eller do (who I mention in one of my quotes above) on agriculture, they seem informative, and to contain information less likely to be found in many other news sources. Probably or possibly not the first one, but these Register articles seem to contain what would be considered premium content (Subscriber Plus) in the World-Herald.

I would add that the World-Herald one, I believe was Subscriber Plus, but fully accessible when I posted it, probably because so much time had passed since it was first published.

If it wasn’t this article then it was another World-Herald one that I noticed this on.

 

[Trice]

I wish them well, and agree that local journalism is important. The Register in its heyday was arguably one of the best local dailies in the country. But the reporting is just so thin and surface-level compared to 20-30 years ago.

Some of this is the digital and social media eras, right-sizing, etc. But Gannett has been slowly bleeding that newspaper dry for decades. It's not just that subscribers have fallen away, it's that the quality has gone down. It's a tough sell for me.