2017 brings new face, website changes

Time to put on another hat.

Beginning this morning, I'll be the newest "face" each Sunday on our "Voices" pages. As publisher of the newspaper, my job description includes a variety of boxes to check if you were listing them out on a piece of paper. But essentially, it's the last box — the one that reads "all of the above" — that sums it up best.

I'm looking forward to sharing some of our successes — and undoubtedly some of our failures — in this space. As a newspaper, we strive to do our best every day.

I'd say we've done pretty well as a team in the past year since I took the job in November 2015. Of course, like any business, there have been days that we dropped the ball. The beautiful facet of the newspaper industry is we always get to try again the next day.

My column topics will range from local government to community events to personal anecdotes to sports. Basically, it will cover the gamut. My hopes are that you'll look forward to each Sunday to see just what's on the plate for the day.

Some weeks may focus on someone in the community doing good things that need to be recognized. Other weeks it may be about an individual or group doing some unscrupulous things — antics that would otherwise land them on Santa's "naughty list" for the year.

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Today, I want to address a topic that's created a bit of a buzz on Facebook and in the area communities. That's the decision to add a paywall to our new website: http://www.EasternNewMexicoNews.com

To eradicate much of the misconception, our readers who receive The News via home delivery or mail still have complete and free access to all of the content and archives on the website. You should have received an e-mail from our circulation department outlining how to establish a username and password.

Unfortunately, some readers may have been missed in the process. Some of you have been subscribers since long before e-mail even existed so we may not have your information in our files if you've ventured into that world recently.

If you're a subscriber and want to add online access to your account — remember it's free — just give our circulation department a call at 575-763-7350 or send me an e-mail and I'll make sure it lands in their hands.

On the flipside, some frequent website visitors have been upset that all of our content is no longer free. I've heard from several — but none have yet to make a worthwhile case as to why we should "give away the farm."

Previously, someone could visit our website and get unlimited access to all of our reporters' work. Now, you receive three complimentary stories every seven days before you're asked to sign up.

Digital-only subscriptions are now an option on our site. Simply click on the "Subscribe" link near the top right-hand corner of the homepage. When prompted, click on the "New" bubble (select "Renewal" if you've already enjoyed a three-week trial subscription) and then hit "Subscribe Now." From there, you can choose from one month to one year of access.

When you actually take a second to ponder it, it seems a bit odd to ask some customers to pay $100-plus a year to receive a newspaper delivered to their home but then charge nothing for access to all of those same stories on our website.

So, like many newspapers across the nation, we've fixed that.

Rob Langrell is the publisher of The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at: [email protected]