For almost two weeks now the Empire has published ads promising readers “more” starting May 1, with the words “Juneau Empire + USA TODAY” printed at the bottom. Now it’s time to explain what those words mean.
Anyone who is a fan of USA TODAY knows the difficulty in finding a current issue in Juneau, if one can be found at all. Only a few vendors in town carry USA TODAY, despite it being the most widely circulated newspaper in the U.S., and even then it’s rarely available before lunchtime.
On Sunday that changes.
Months ago our parent company, Morris Communications, started negotiations to begin including USA TODAY articles and photos in its newspapers. The Juneau Empire was selected as one of its first publications to launch this new partnership. On Sunday, our readers will finally witness the product of this colloboration. Or rather, products.
Starting Sunday, the Associated Press “Money and Markets” pages will be replaced with USA TODAY’s “Personal Finance” pages. In the Monday through Friday editions, our nation and world news content will that of USA TODAY. What will be delivered to our readers’ doorsteps will be the same news and information contained within the pages of that day’s USA TODAY standalone publication.
We’ve got good news for sports fans as well. Beginning Monday, the Empire will publish a standalone section of USA TODAY sports in our electronic edition for digital readers. Everyone with a print subscription also has full access for the e-edition, which can be read with same ease on home PCs, tablets and smartphones. If you haven’t set up your online subscription yet and need assistance, please call us at 586-3740 and we’ll help you get started.
USA TODAY nation and world news, and Personal Finance pages, also will be included with the Empire’s e-edition.
Some of you might be thinking, “But what about more local news?”
Including USA TODAY content in the Empire, which arrives to us ready to go on the page, will free up time for our staff members to focus on more local endeavors, from time spent building and editing pages to producing articles about Juneau and Southeast Alaska. Essentially, it allows us to do “more” without short-changing readers of the national and international news and sports they’ve come to expect.
The Empire will continue looking for additional ways to add to our print and digital products in the coming months and years.
Very Respectfully,
Charles L. Westmorealnd
Director of Audience / Editor,
The Juneau Empire
