News Leader to switch to carrier delivery next week
Starting next week, the Highland News Leader will switch publication days from Thursday to Wednesday, and most subscribers will now get their paper delivered from private carriers rather than in the mail.
Carriers from the Belleville News-Democrat audience department will now be bringing you your paper. For those living outside of the BND’s delivery footprint, you will still get your paper through the mail.
The e-edition of the News Leader will also be available now on Wednesdays. We will continue to update the News Leader website, highlandnl.com, daily.
The Ad Direct, a shopper published by the News Leader, will continue to come on Mondays via carrier in Highland and through the mail elsewhere.
If you have any questions regarding home delivery, call the BND (618) 239-2710. There also is a dedicated customer email address for the News Leader: hnlcustservice@bnd.com.
These changes — and some others we have made — may prompt questions from some. So we will try and answer them here.
Q: Why are you making these changes?
A: These changes are for you — our readers. By changing to carrier delivery and a Wednesday publication day, we are dedicating ourselves to getting you the news you want and need faster.
Q: Will the content of the News Leader be changing?
A: Yes, for the better.
We intend to keep covering the things you expect from us, including covering Highland school board and government news. We think it’s important that you know what your elected officials are doing and how your tax money is being spent. We also will continue to cover the local sports scene, and you can expect to continue to see all the special publications we produce. The Highland Community Profile will be in next week’s paper.
But we also will have more community news and reader-contributed content and plan to add space in the newspaper to make room for this. We also intend to bring you more of the feature stories and photos on local people, groups and events you want.
This is where we need your help. If you take a great photo yourself, feel free to submit it. If you have other news or photos to submit, a feature story idea or a tip about breaking news, we would love to hear from you.
Q: So, how can I get news to the paper?
A: Our office is located at #1 Woodcrest Professional Park in Highland, which is located along U.S. Highway 40. Due to some recent construction from our neighbors here in the business park, things are a little different than they used to be. We are located in the same building as Equity 55 Real Estate. However, a recently completed remodeling means the News Leader’s main door is in the back of the building, so you will want to drive around.
Email is also a great way to submit news. The general email for the newsroom is hnlnews@bnd.com.
You can also contact us through our Facebook page: facebook.com/highlandnewsleader.
Q: Does it cost anything to submit news?
A: No. The News Leader runs several news items for free. These include birth, engagement, wedding and anniversary announcements, as well as four- or five-generation photos.
If you are not-for-profit organization holding a fundraiser, we will also run a brief about your event, one time, free of charge. We also publish club meeting notices free of charge.
Q: I see cost of the newspaper went up on the stands, why?
A: The business reality is that, in order to continue to provide all the things we do free of charge, a price increase for purchase at the news stand was necessary.
That being said, a subscription is only $42 per year in areas where carrier delivery is available. That’s 60 percent off the news stand price. Mail delivery is available at $60 per year, 42 percent off the news stand price.
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 5:29 AM with the headline "News Leader to switch to carrier delivery next week."