Things I Don't Understand (newspaper style)
I was apparently under the false impression that advertisers paid for the ads placed in the newspaper. But I got the following email today that makes me think I've been misinformed all these years.
Silly me. Apparently the paper doesn't charge for the ads (or at least charge adequately) since they want to change the price of the Thanksgiving Day paper for which I'd already paid. I completely understand the ploy here, get money from any source possible. The subscribers have already paid; we have no recourse laid out in the email. What I don't understand is that I contracted to get the paper for a certain period of time for a certain price and the paper, without prior discussion with pertinent parties (the subscribers), the Winston-Salem Journal changed the rules. If they had put this little tidbit in the original bill, I would have thought it was more than a bit bizarre, but I probably would have subscribed to the paper knowing this was coming. I would have felt like I had some choice, however.
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Dear Winston Salem Journal,
It is not good form (READ, it is a terrible idea) to change the rules for what I paid AFTER I've paid.
Sincerely,
Ron and Bitsy Griffin
On Thanksgiving Day, we will deliver to you the biggest newspaper of the year! As always, it is loaded with information you can use and valuable advertising to get your holiday season off to the right start. Because of its sheer size, the Thanksgiving Day newspaper is one of the most expensive to produce and difficult to distribute. And many of our carriers must use additional help to complete deliveries in a timely manner.
Effective this year, we will charge a premium rate of $2.00 for the Thanksgiving Day newspaper. This charge will be debited to your newspaper account on Thanksgiving Day. The small increase in the rate for the Thanksgiving Day newspaper will result in a slightly earlier expiration date for your current subscription term.
We hope you can appreciate the value of the Thanksgiving Day newspaper and the necessity for the premium charge to partially cover our added expenses and those of your carrier.
Thank you for reading and supporting the Winston Salem Journal.
Sincerely,
Kevin Kampman
Silly me. Apparently the paper doesn't charge for the ads (or at least charge adequately) since they want to change the price of the Thanksgiving Day paper for which I'd already paid. I completely understand the ploy here, get money from any source possible. The subscribers have already paid; we have no recourse laid out in the email. What I don't understand is that I contracted to get the paper for a certain period of time for a certain price and the paper, without prior discussion with pertinent parties (the subscribers), the Winston-Salem Journal changed the rules. If they had put this little tidbit in the original bill, I would have thought it was more than a bit bizarre, but I probably would have subscribed to the paper knowing this was coming. I would have felt like I had some choice, however.
_____________________________________________________________________
Dear Winston Salem Journal,
It is not good form (READ, it is a terrible idea) to change the rules for what I paid AFTER I've paid.
Sincerely,
Ron and Bitsy Griffin
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