| Readers subscribing to the virtual paperby service will be able to access the entire editions of the Sun Advocate and Emery County Progress online. |
Not long ago, Carbon and Emery County residents could only get local news by going to the stores and buying a paper or spending the cash for subscriptions.
Almost 10 years ago, the Sun Advocate and Emery County Progress started posting some new reports and community events on a Web site so people with Internet access could find out what happening in the local area. Yet there was still something incomplete about the process.
The Web site offered a variety, but not nearly all the information printed in the newspapers.
But the situation will change this week as the Sun Advocate and Emery County Progress go online with complete versions of the two newspapers.
“We now have three ways of delivering the news to each of our readers,” pointed out Richard Shaw, Sun Advocate and Emery County Progress publisher. “Of course, you can still take the papers in the basic form they were conceived of more than 100 years ago. But now you can also get abbreviated versions at our Web sites, as has been the case for a few years, or you can subscribe to our complete online version of the papers, which we call the Virtual Paperboy.”
Carbon and Emery residents may access the Web sites at www.sunad.com and www.ecprogress.com.
The Internet versions will be up to date and frequently available online before the regular newspapers hit the doorsteps of homes on publication days.
“Because of the printing restrictions on our press, we can only print the outside pages of out paper in color,” said Shaw. “The online version will be in color throughout. Some ads and photos will still be black and white because that is the way they came to us or were designed. But all color photos will come to the readers in their full bloom.”
The fees for the online edition subscriptions are lower than the actual newspaper rates are.
“Where I see this as a very real service to our customers is for those who live out of the area or those who know someone who does live outside the area that would like to have the complete newspaper at their disposal,” stated Shaw.
In the past, special sections were not mailed to subscribers who lived outside of Carbon and Emery counties. With a Virtual Paperboy subscription, the readers will have access to the regular newspapers and the specials.
“Another thing that many outside the area will like is the fact that they will not have to wait so long to get their paper,” explained Shaw. “People in New York, California or, for that matter, Paris will have the paper on their screens before many of the local residents get it delivered to their doorsteps.”
The printed out of the area newspapers are mailed on the same day as the subscriptions in the local area.
But third class mail is seldom a priority of the United States Postal Service, noted Shaw.
Consequently, the arrival times of the mailed newspapers can vary significantly.
“Think about the possibilities of this service,” pointed out Shaw. “People who go south for the winter can take the paper on-line so they are up-to-date about what is going on in Castle Valley. Or what about kids going away to school? Parents who send kids off to college with a lap top computer can also send them with a Vitual Paperboy subscription so they can keep up on what is going on at home.”
“This service is perfect for young people, many of whom seldom pick up the paper. But they will look at what is on their computer screens,” continued the publisher.
Another advantage of the online editions of the Sun Advocate and Emery County Progress will be complete archiving.
“Subscribers can also buy the right to go into the archives of both newspapers,” continued Shaw. “Within a few weeks, the archives will run back to the beginning of 2007. But as time goes on, those archives will grow and, depending on the subscription the readers select, people will be able to search for information in back issues of both papers.”
Readers who wish to subscribe to the online service may go to the Sun Advocate or Emery County Progress Web sites. There is a link on the right side of the page labeled “Online subscription” with the logo of the Virtual Paperboy on it.
Clicking the link will take the reader to an explanation of the service.
A second link will take readers to the forms where people may sign up for the Virtual Paperboy services they desire.
The online newspaper subscriptions will eventually tie in with other services the newspapers will soon offer, noted the publisher.
In the near future, people who want to place classified or liner ads in the newspapers will be able to do so online.
The online customers will enter the information as they would like the classified ads to appear in the Sun Advocate and Emery County Progress.
“For traditional newspaper readers, the print edition will always be around. The Virtual Paperboy just adds to our ability to supply home grown news and information to the citizens of our area,” concluded Shaw.