Digital Saturdays are another way the News-Democrat is evolving in an electronic world
People ask about the future of the Belleville News-Democrat all the time, and why wouldn’t they?
The BND is going through a whirlwind of change while we seek the right path to sustained success as a digital news organization and continue to produce journalism that is essential to readers. The same thing is happening at news companies across the nation.
The next step to help ensure the BND’s future begins this week when we shift to a digital-only replica edition on Saturdays and expand our print editions on Fridays and Sundays. We announced the changes last summer and have spoken with a number of you about it since then.
It’s worth a recap as we approach the launch date.
More and more readers today get their news via cell phone, tablet and computer, yet some people still enjoy their print editions. The changes that begin this week will allow us to invest more in our digital products while still serving our valued print readers.
So here’s what to expect:
- Fridays: The newspaper will include new themed pages called “Uplift,” your source of good news for the weekend. We’ll also publish the TV grids for both Friday and Saturday in the Friday newspaper
- Saturdays: Remember, you won’t receive a print edition, but you can go digital with the eEdition, which replicates the experience of the printed newspaper. You can also get much more in our Extra Extra daily digital supplement, which is packed with national, international, entertainment and sports news.
- Sundays: This edition will include the normal Sunday lineup, plus all the puzzles and comics that you love to read in your Saturday newspaper.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns related to the new delivery method for “digital Saturdays,” please give us a call at 800-559-6378 or email us at customerservice@bnd.com. We will do everything possible to ensure your satisfaction.
If you are a print subscriber but haven’t activated your all-access digital account, which comes automatically with your subscription, you can do so at this link: bnd.com/activate.
So let’s go back to where we started this column — the future of the BND — and get right down to the main question underlying that topic: Is the Belleville News-Democrat going out of business?
We hear the question quite a bit as our nearly 162-year-old company evolves into a digital news organization or when we make announcements like our decision to move to a new headquarters in Belleville next year.
The answer is no. Change has been a part of life at the BND since its founding in January 1858, just like it is at any organization with a long history and deep roots in the community. Our challenge today is meeting consumers’ rapidly growing preference for digital news products.
We are as committed as ever to being your first, best and most-trusted source of local news and a watchdog over public institutions, officials and tax dollars. We want to continue serving our region for generations to come.
But we need your help. Subscriptions to the BND fund the work of the largest local news staff in Southern Illinois every day, seven days a week.
Why subscribing to the BND is worth the investment
A BND subscription is worth your investment.
Local journalism brings people together. It digs deep. It raises questions and answers questions. It’s a catalyst for change. It informs, entertains, delights, inspires, engages and surprises.
A subscription to the BND supports comprehensive, continuous coverage of major news such as this summer’s flooding along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers and the impact on communities, the shooting death of a state trooper and the public outpouring that followed and the impending closing of Lindenwood University-Belleville’s day program and the reasons behind it.
You get compelling human interest stories, such as articles about why kids in one metro-east town are giving up video games and television to play outside, the saga of the Wild Cherry van and its new owner and how a couple’s heartache over the suicide of their daughter turned into action.
You get context about important issues, like our ongoing coverage of the Illinois state government’s decision to legalize recreational marijuana and what it means for local communities, changes in the state’s abortion laws and the impact of gambling expansion.
You get information that helps you participate in civic life, such as the BND’s extensive searchable database of public employee salaries and political coverage that profiles dozens of candidates and tells you where they stand on issues important to you.
You get accountability reporting like our articles about the deaths of children despite state agency involvement, a legal fight between public officials that costs taxpayers thousands of dollars, and flaws in the system that is supposed to keep guns out of the hands of lawbreakers.
All of this and more come with a subscription to the BND.
If you don’t subscribe, please consider investing in local journalism by visiting bnd.com/subscribe. If you already subscribe, we thank you. Your support makes a difference every day.
And as always, thank you for reading and viewing the work of BND journalists.
