Joshua Specht
Editor/Publisher
Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Minden Press-Herald chose to transition from a five-day daily newspaper to a bi-weekly paper. We made this decision for a variety of reasons, including to reduce the work hours of our employees to do our part in flattening the curve, issues regarding acquiring the paper we needed to print the newspaper on that came from problems arising in supply chain and delivery, and also simply the sheer drop in the amount of local events that were available to cover.
While we may be nearing the end of that period now, this experience has given us an opportunity to reassess how we can best fulfill our purpose, that being to inform the citizens of Webster Parish of the latest local news in our area.
The discussions in how to do this have led us to the conclusion that the Minden Press-Herald will continue to remain a bi-weekly paper moving forward.
The main factor in this decision is that when it comes to informing the citizens of Webster Parish, we believe we can continue to provide the same quality news that our readers turned to us to for decades now while also reducing how much it costs to view that content.
Moving forward, subscriptions to the Minden Press-Herald will come in three bundles, those being $12.50 for three months, $25 for six months, or $50 for one year.
For our subscribers who have already paid in advance for future editions of the Minden Press-Herald, starting Monday, May 25, whatever amount is still left on the account at the time of rollover will automatically be used towards the new subscription model.
For example, if someone has $15 on their account, which would previously only be able to pay for little over a months’ subscription, on May 25, the money will then be used towards one of the new bundles, such as the three month bundle for 12.50, netting the person an additional two months of subscriptions than they wouldn’t have gotten previously.
This change also comes with an increased focus on our online and social media pages. This pandemic has shown how vital it is that people are able to access important information about their local area safely from their homes. Moving forward we look to increase the amount of content that the Minden Press-Herald publishes online.
Purchasing a subscription, or even just following our Facebook page, will be the best source for getting the latest news for Webster Parish as soon as possible.
These times have brought with them a lot of changes. However, we are doing everything we can here at the Minden Press-Herald to ensure that the changes we make moving forward will be for the better. Better for the paper, better for our employees, and most importantly, better for our readers.