Herald-Leader to change print publication days, delivery method in next step of digital push
The best newspapers I know are ones that forge enduring relationships with the communities they serve.
That’s certainly true when surveying the connections linking the Herald-Leader and our readers in Lexington, surrounding regional counties and all across our commonwealth since our founding in 1870.
Through our journalism, we’ve come together at times of tragedy and great triumphs. We’ve found solutions for our most daunting problems. Together, we’ve tackled economic challenges and celebrated high-profile investments that yielded new jobs and industries.
We also have embraced change — such as the ones unfolding around your dining room tables and our Newsroom desks. And that’s why I’m writing today.
The Herald-Leader, your 154-year-old neighbor, is taking yet another important digitally focused step this summer that brings us closer to an economically sustainable future, while also responding to readers’ changing habits.
Beginning Aug. 5, we will transition to a 24/7 digital product with three days of high-quality, locally focused print editions a week.
Those editions will publish Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and be delivered by mail. They will arrive on the same day as publication, in most cases, along with your regular mail delivery.
The Sunday newspaper will land on Saturday because of the U.S. Postal Service’s delivery schedule. Single copies also will be available at select retail locations.
Let me tackle the obvious question: Why?
It’s no secret that legacy news operations such as the Herald-Leader (and countless others around the country) have seen a marked decline in our print business. Crucial advertisers have transitioned to the digital space, leaning heavily on such tech giants as Facebook and Google. That’s impacted our bottom line.
Equally important: More and more of you have transitioned away from ink-on-paper and are now reading our content on smartphones, tablets and laptops.
And not just in the morning with your coffee, but literally around-the-clock.
At any time of day, you want to know what’s unfolding in your community, which is why we cover news as it happens. We’re committed to that 24/7 coverage for all of our readers.
Even more broadly, the Herald-Leader is part of the 30-newspaper McClatchy Co., and we’re determined to be the nation’s cutting-edge content and audience enterprise. That means our sustainability, our very financial future, depends on new readers on new platforms.
How does that happen?
By devoting more firepower, energy and innovation to our digital products and content offerings. And it will happen without reducing our commitment to in-depth reporting, investigative work and compelling stories.
Lexington is not alone in seeing its print business shrink as digital engagement and subscribers soar.
Two weeks ago, the Pew Research Center, a leader in tracking journalism trends and readers habits around the country, reported seismic changes in our profession.
More specifically, how readers like you are consuming news.
A 5,000-person survey conducted in January revealed three important findings I want to share with you:
The most important trend: A growing share of Americans prefer to get local news stories online, while fewer are getting news in print or on TV.
They’re finding those headlines through news websites or social media. Both of those numbers have surged in recent years.
Newspapers are no longer primarily “read” as a print product. Instead, the majority of readers of local daily newspapers now access them digitally, on such sites as Kentucky.com, our newsletters or morning digital Edition.
With those trends in mind, we must be even more strategic.
Those three print editions each week will be jam-packed with consequential content even as our newsroom has become more digitally focused.
We’re doubling down on delivering essential local and statewide stories, but readers of Kentucky.com or our new morning digital Edition will see our best work before our print readers.
Changes in our print cycle will not deter my pledge that the Herald-Leader will be the best newsroom in Kentucky and one of the best of its size in the country.
Our good work underscores those promises to you.
Earlier in May, for example, our watchdog reporting on years of problems at Kentucky’s Department of Juvenile Justice, ranging from abuse of teenage inmates to lecherous behavior by guards, grabbed the attention of federal officials.
Because of the powerful and exclusive reporting by John Cheves, the Department of Justice has launched a formal investigation into the long-troubled state agency.
Investigators will “review whether there are unconstitutional conditions, including use of unreasonable physical and chemical force by staff, inappropriate use of isolation, failure to protect children from physical and sexual abuse, and adequate mental health care,” said Kristen Clarke, an assistant U.S. attorney general who heads DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
Once again, the Herald-Leader’s reporting is protecting some of Kentucky’s most vulnerable.
And earlier this year, we were named the best big-market news operation in the commonwealth, as determined by the Kentucky Press Association. Our staff won 36 awards in the statewide competition, the most of any of our state’s three largest newsrooms.
Judges lauded our vast coverage, from comprehensive University of Kentucky sports stories to our work in revealing despicable conditions in Louisville nursing homes and the lack of laws protecting students and preventing teacher sex abuse.
If you’re already a subscriber, thank you. Your financial support is an investment in local journalism and ensures our good work will continue. (And please make sure you’ve activated your complete digital access at kentucky.com/activate.)
If you aren’t a subscriber, my staff and I have one request: Please consider being part of the relationship we’ve built with all of Kentucky since our first edition in 1870.
Our powerful local news does more than inform readers. It also preserves democracy. And, yes, I believe local journalism truly matters.
I believe a close-knit, aspirational community like Lexington cannot thrive without a strong, independent local news source. The future of our community depends on it.
In the coming days, subscribers will receive correspondence from our customer service team regarding next steps related to your print subscription. That team can be reached at 800-999-8881.
For 154 years, we’ve been your neighbor. Trust me, we plan to be here for decades to come.
Thanks, as always, for reading Kentucky.com and the Herald-Leader.
Richard A. Green is our executive editor. Email: rgreen@herald-leader.com
This story was originally published May 31, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Herald-Leader to change print publication days, delivery method in next step of digital push."