Daily Journal staff reports
Beginning June 15, the Daily Journal newspaper will be delivered with your U.S. mail.
Home News Enterprises Vice President Chuck Wells, publisher of the Daily Journal, answers questions about the change and what it will mean for you.
When will I get my printed newspaper?
You will get the print edition with your mail. So if the U.S. Postal Service delivers your mail in the afternoon, that is when you will get your Daily Journal.
Our digital newspaper will continue to be available to subscribers at 4 a.m. You can access the e-edition, digital replica of the newspaper, on your smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.
Or you can go to our website, dailyjournal.net, and read stories and view photos.
And just as we have in the past, we will continue to break news on all our digital platforms whenever news happens.
To learn more about how to access the digital version of the Daily Journal, see Page A4.
Why are you making this change?
A couple of reasons. One, postal delivery will help us reduce costs in a way that will allow us to keep reporters on the streets.
Two, just as many businesses are experiencing workforce issues, we are finding it more difficult to find a stable delivery force available to go door-to-door in the early morning hours. Turnover in delivery routes has resulted in an increasing number of service issues.
We understand that not everyone will like this decision, and it may change your reading routines. Please know we will continue to offer you news about your neighbors and communities that you cannot get anywhere else.
What if I want to read the paper in the morning?
You can still do that with your laptop, desktop computer, smartphone or tablet.
Retail locations will have papers available by 6 a.m.
What else?
Keep in mind that how you get the news and how we deliver the news has changed dramatically in the past decade. More and more people are getting news digitally.
The digital audience engaged with newspaper content reached a new peak in March, totaling 176 million adult unique visitors, according to the Newspaper Association of America. The count is a 10 percent increase from a year ago.
The latest data also revealed that those who use only mobile devices, rather than desktops or laptops, to consume newspaper digital content increased 53 percent in March 2015 from the same month a year ago, to 71 million adult unique visitors.
The Daily Journal has robust digital offerings — e-edition, website, an app, Facebook and Twitter. You do not have to wait for the printed newspaper to find out what is happening.
Moreover, we post stories to our digital offerings throughout the day and evening as news happens to make sure you know what is going on in your neighborhood and community.
Have other newspapers gone to mail delivery?
Yes. The Daily Reporter, our sister paper in Greenfield, went to mail delivery four days a week nearly six years ago.
In fact, the Daily Journal wasn’t always delivered in the morning. Until April 1996, the Daily Journal was delivered to Johnson County residents in the afternoon.
Will my paper look different?
Just a little bit. We will make room for the address label in the top right corner of the front page. Otherwise, you will continue to see our bold designs that help tell the stories of the people and communities in Johnson County.
How will the news and content in the newspaper change? Won’t the news be old by the time my mail comes?
Not much and no! The Daily Journal’s approach has always been to focus on the issues that matter to our readers. We aim for depth on stories, instead of a quick passing look at issues.
For example, we are taking an in-depth look at the storied career of Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger as the Bargersville resident retires as leader of the Indiana National Guard.
Other stories on tap include a look at how much parents are spending on intense summer camps to sharpen kids’ brains and athletic skills, and we look at how electric rates are inching up. Did you know that the old digital meter is going by the wayside?
Those types of enterprise stories will continue to be front and center.
Will I still get my newspaper six days a week?
Most weeks, yes. The Daily Journal has traditionally been published Monday through Saturday, with no paper on Christmas Day.
Because of our delivery changes, you will no longer receive a newspaper on federal holidays when the post office doesn’t deliver mail.
But you won’t miss out on any content. For example, all of the features, coupons and advertising circulars normally included in our July 4 paper will instead be included in the July 3 paper.
You also won’t receive a newspaper on Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day this year.
Keep in mind that if breaking news happens on those days, we will have reporters and editors working to get it covered. We will be posting breaking news stories to our website and social media feeds when news happens.
What if the post office does not deliver my paper?
Please call our customer services representatives at 800-435-5601.
