April 3 is a date we here at the Nouvelle have had circled on the calendar for a while.
After months of planning and preparation, next Tuesday the newspaper will start being offered at no cost. Our team of enthusiastic carriers will also hit the streets in town to help us get the paper delivered door-to-door.
Of course, as with any major change, we’ve gotten lots of questions. Well, let me put some of the more common inquiries to rest.
If you’re not familiar with the publication the Lakeland Regional, it’s a free paper that we’ve been distributing on a weekly basis throughout the region. So for all of you wondering how we can financially continue without subscribers, the fact of the matter is that we have already been printing and distributing a free newspaper. Now, instead of having two publications that we’re producing each week, we’ll be able to put our focus on one.
That leads into other whisperings that we’ve heard. No, there is no other business, organization, or municipal entity covering the costs of subscriptions for everyone.
Why carriers? Why not? Carriers are a cost effective way of delivering to all of the houses within the town. Plus, it provides a unique opportunity for younger children to start earning some money for themselves, or a way to get a little extra cash for people who want something to do during the week but can’t make a huge time commitment.
Through carriers, Canada Post, newspaper boxes, and dealers, our goal is to ensure that everyone in the area has access to the Bonnyville Nouvelle. Anywhere you once bought your weekly newspaper, whether at a convenience store, gas station, grocery store, or pharmacy, will continue to carry the paper. There will also be newspaper boxes at various locations, including in the Centennial Centre. Our e-edition, which gets posted to our website bonnyvillenouvelle.ca, will also be open for anyone to read.
As I said, months of planning and organization have gone into this change in an effort to work out any issues that could arise. But, we’re not as naive to think that there won’t be kinks that need ironing out along the way.
All I can ask is that you bear with us as we go through this transition. If you have any problems, by all means, let us know so we can work at fixing them.
In the end, you’ll still be getting the same Nouvelle that you’ve picked up every week. The staff at our office isn’t changing. We’re still committed to bringing you quality coverage of local news and events, and providing our business clients a valuable avenue to spread their message.
Except now, you won’t have to worry about renewing your subscription every year or finding change for $1.50 each week.
