ANR changes pending

After months of planning, the Aurora News-Register has introduced a series of format changes designed to increase both the quantity and timeliness of local news distribution, as well as a new circulation rate structure necessary to support those objectives.
The changes are a significant milestone in the history of a publication that dates back more than 70 years here in Hamilton County, according to co-publisher Kurt Johnson.
“The past few months have been eye-opening in terms of learning what our readers want and expect from their hometown weekly newspaper, as well as how much they value local news,” Johnson said. “We are excited about some of the format changes that readers told us, and our staff believes, will enhance our mission to cover our community. We also want to be transparent about the need to increase circulation prices to reflect the cost of doing business in today’s world.”
A new e-newsletter product debuted Oct. 3, offering subscribers a new source of local information. The email blast sent out each Friday morning includes news updates on things that have happened since that week’s edition rolled off the press on Tuesday, along with sneak previews of stories coming up in the next week’s edition. Readers told us they wanted a calendar of events for the week ahead, so that is included as well.
In addition, the ANR news team has begun posting more timely updates daily on its social media platforms (Facebook, X and Instagram) and on the newspaper’s website (auroranewsregister.com). Some of those posts feature short video clips and/or photos along with brief written summaries, and, depending on the impact of breaking news, complete stories as they will appear in print the following week. Online viewers can read a brief introduction to those articles, though a paid subscription is required to get behind a paywall to read the complete report.
Johnson also emphasized that subscribers who prefer holding the printed edition in their hands and don’t want to receive the e-newsletter via email or go online for news updates will have that option, as always.
“Someone asked me if the motivation for this plan is to move away from the printed product and shift our coverage more to a digital format,” Johnson said. “The answer is no. The reality is we have to do both. Our mission has always been to cover our community in the best way possible. That has not changed. In fact, these format changes are making local information available more quickly for those who want it, while preserving the traditional ink-on-paper version some prefer.”
Teri Finneman, a journalism professor at the University of Kansas and the author of “Reviving Local News,” led a focus group project this summer which gathered local feedback on a variety of topics, all designed to help ANR’s ownership and staff better understand what the community wants and expects from its hometown paper. The most frequent comments in that study suggested that the News-Register “does a really good job, but readers want content in real time. The news is too slow.” 
In fact, 75 percent of respondents said they want to see stories available more frequently than once a week. With the changes, ANR will therefore reflect more of a daily news cycle.

Cost factor
Co-publisher Paula Johnson estimated the expense involved in producing the weekly printed edition at just over $4 per copy. That figure includes payroll, newsprint, postage, ink and all costs related to creating the newspaper.
“The cost to print a newspaper, the cost for mailing, all of those things have gone up while people turning to Facebook and email and the decline of classified advertising has whittled away on the revenue of newspapers, making them have to rely on other revenue streams,” Finneman said. “This is the beginning of the news industry needing help from the public, not the end.”
Effective Oct. 1, a print subscription to the News-Register is $55. A new combination package is now available for $78, giving subscribers both a printed edition and access to the e-edition, which is an exact PDF replica of the printed product. Digital-only subscriptions increased as well to $59. Access to the new e-newsletter product is included with each subscription package at no additional charge. Print-only subscribers will need to provide an email address to receive the e-newsletter.
The price for a single copy at all area news stands increased from $1 to $2.
“We recognize what we are asking here,” Johnson said. “Everyone’s costs are going up, from the grocery store to the gas pump, and now we are asking more for local news coverage. That’s why feedback from the focus group and reader survey was so important to this project because our community told us, loudly and clearly, that you value local news. The increase in subscription costs will help cover production costs and put ANR on a sustainable path to continue providing local news for years to come.”
Johnson said he welcomes feedback on the changes, noting that other news content changes may be made in the weeks and months ahead. 
“We are committed to covering our community in the best way possible and to do that we rely on readers sharing news tips, feature story ideas and input on what kind of content they want and expect to see,” Johnson concluded. “We so appreciate this community’s support over the years and look for continued support as we work to provide even better coverage moving forward.”
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@hamilton.net