I’ve been an editor at this news company for a long time. I’ve written untold columns to readers.
I can tell you without exaggeration that the strongest reaction I’ve ever gotten was when we changed the TV listings or our comics line-up. Years ago, I received more than 600 calls and emails in one day after announcing changes. People are passionate about their favorites.
We’re about to make comic changes again, but actually this time I’m not too worried. That’s because we’re adding far more content than we are changing out.
So let me explain – and then read to the end of the column for some more good news.
Starting March 18, our eight Michigan newspaper titles are adding 8 new comic strips to our Sunday newspaper lineup – 6 will be available in our online newspaper editions and 2 will appear in print.
On weekdays, the additions total a whopping 69 new comics – 57 of them available in the online newspaper and 12 of them in printed editions. (More later in this column on accessing the online newspaper.)
In all, our daily lineup will have nearly 100 popular titles in print or exclusively in the online version of the newspaper. For Sunday, 40 of the most popular titles will be in the print newspaper or exclusively in the online version.
I don’t have enough space to list all these new comics. However, I can tell you what is going away from Sunday print editions in this transition: Baldo, F Minus, Hocus Focus and Speed Bump. HOWEVER: All of the comics moving out of print will be available at www.mlive.com/allcomics/.
OK, on to the other good news: Recently I wrote about changes to our online newspaper edition formatting, and subsequent reader reactions. Some were positive but most who wrote expressed frustration with new ways to navigate.
I asked readers to spend some time getting used to the modified format but also said that our team would listen to feedback and work to improve the experience. I’m happy to announce these changes have rolled out:
Navigation arrow at the sides of web browser reader.Tool tips on web browser icons.Ability to download an entire edition to pdf format.Edition naming on the home page now includes day of week in addition to the issue date. More granular text sizing adjustment in the online newspaper app (still the best viewing experience).Ability to navigate to sections from the page viewer on both web browser and the app. Section names will now be displayed in both web and native apps and they are clickable to jump you to the first page of that section. This may not be news to you, because our customer service team has been sending emails to subscribers with product updates and links to our user navigation guide, which is packed with illustrations and helpful tips. If you haven’t seen it yet, click here (this is The Grand Rapids Press version, but the navigation features are the same for all 8 online papers). As always, we like to hear from the people who use our products most loyally about how we can improve the product and experience. Send your comments, questions and suggestions to me at [email protected]. To talk to a customer service representative, email [email protected]. And, if you’re not a subscriber but would like to sign up, view our current pricing offers here. As always, thank you for supporting MLive’s journalism – and our ability to bring you new and better products – with your subscription. # # # | 