The Juneau Empire will soon begin to arrive via mail for some local subscribers, the publisher announced Friday.
According to David Rigas, publisher of the Empire, about 30% of subscribers will see a delivery change beginning Jan. 18. He said that the partnership with the United States Postal Service will ensure regular paper delivery to areas where reliable delivery by carriers has been lacking.
The move comes after a months-long effort to find neighborhood carriers for the paper.
“For the last several months we’ve been struggling with delivery, and we know that some of our subscribers have not received their papers regularly,” Rigas said. “That’s not acceptable. We can do better, and I believe this approach will let us do better.”
Rigas said that the affected subscribers include those who live on Douglas Island, near Basin Road and in some areas north of Safeway. Affected subscribers will receive a text message and an email alerting them to the change.
“We understand this means that for some readers, the news will arrive later in the day than it has traditionally,” Rigas said. “But, this change will increase the dependability of delivery tremendously.”
Rigas said that the latest news and breaking local stories will continue to be available online at www.juneauempire.com.
Ben Hohenstatt, the Empire’s managing editor, said he welcomed the change.
“This decision was not made lightly. I believe it’s ultimately a good one, and it’s a way to ensure that subscribers receive an acceptable level of service,” Hohenstatt said. “The past months have been challenging. It’s been frustrating that a product that the Juneau Empire team works hard to create has not reached the people who want it. I am hopeful that this change will lead to an immediate improvement for subscribers.”
Rigas said the delivery change will not affect the paper’s publication schedule.
The Empire has been publishing news from Alaska’s capital since 1912 under four different nameplates, including The Alaska Daily Empire and the Southeast Alaska Empire.
• Contact reporter Dana Zigmund at dana.zigmund@juneauempire.com or 907-308-4891.
From the publisher
Dear reader:
I’m David Rigas, and I have been serving as publisher for the Juneau Empire since October.
I am committed to making our local paper Southeast Alaska’s top publication and am actively taking steps to make that happen.
For example, we recently updated the quality of our printing press. However, delivery challenges remain. Today, I’m pleased to share that I’ve taken action to resolve the issue.
As you may have read in today’s paper, the Juneau Empire has partnered with the United States Postal Service to deliver the Empire to some subscribers via mail.
While this approach is a departure from the way the Empire has historically been delivered, I believe the regularity and dependability of this delivery method outweighs any disadvantages.
When customers don’t receive their newspaper on time, we are all frustrated–it’s not the service you expect or deserve. Frankly, it’s completely unacceptable.
Our team strives to create one source for all the local news, complete with vital information, opinion pieces, puzzles, local advertising and more.
We want to make sure our product is delivered in a timely manner, and we want our subscribers to know their newspaper will arrive reliably. This change allows us to achieve those goals.
Thank you for supporting local journalism and reading the Juneau Empire.
Thank you,
David Rigas
Publisher for the Juneau Empire
