Dear Readers:
With the announcement this morning of our All-Access Membership program for Savannah Morning News print subscribers, we are moving savannahnow.com to metered access effective Monday evening, Oct. 29.
Metered access will allow our Savannah Morning News print subscribers unlimited access to our locally produced journalism and premium content while limiting access to those who seek our premium content for free. Effective Monday evening, non-subscribers will only be able to access 15 pages of our premium content each month without a subscription.
We made this decision for a few reasons:
• Our core business model needs to change. The world is evolving around us with media consumption habits driving massive change in the delivery platforms for news and information.
• For almost 145 years, our only delivery platform was the newspaper. Today, we have print, desktops and laptops, tablets and smartphones. You can get our information, through print or on savannahnow.com, wherever and whenever you want it. This has challenged our traditional reliance on advertising revenues as new platforms fragment the advertising marketplace. As we look to the future, we seek to have more balance between our advertising and subscription revenues.
The bottom line: Our local journalism is valuable whether it comes delivered in the newspaper or on any other platform.
• Our goal is to be a 21st century media company that provides advanced digital and print solutions. Our new business model allows us to invest in journalism for the future. We are expanding our news and digital staffs and intensifying our focus on investigative and watchdog reporting. Our recent reporting on management issues at the city of Savannah is one example. No other local media source could match the time, attention and detail given to this matter by the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com.
We are honored to serve our community and look forward to a strong, vibrant future as your local news and information source.
Here are some important details on the change announced today:
What do print subscribers need to do to activate unlimited access to savannahnow.com?
Print subscribers to the Savannah Morning News will continue to receive unlimited access to savannahnow.com as part of our new All-Access Membership program. Print subscribers will need to activate their unlimited access at www.savannahnow.com/allaccess. This access is included in our subscription.
What does this mean to non-subscribers and how does a non-subscriber gain unlimited access to savannahnow.com?
Non-subscribers can gain unlimited access to our premium content on savannahnow.com, our iPad edition, our e-newspaper edition and smartphone applications by purchasing an All-Access Digital Access package for $16 a month or a single channel for $9.95 per month. Other plans are available that include the print edition of the Savannah Morning News as well. Details can be found at www.savannahnow.com/allaccess.
As a non-subscriber, what will happen when the monthly 15-page limit is reached?
You will no longer be able to view our premium content without a subscription. Our system is set up to alert you to your options once you reach the limit.