« Obama, stand firm on federal shutdown and debt limit | Main | Help Save Salem's Community Vision: meeting Oct. 18, 2013 »

October 11, 2013

Comments

They reduced my subscription price when I called to cancel. The current offer is $1.99/ week if you pay upfront for 6 months or a year. They throw in a $20 grocery gift card (Safeway or Freddy's) for the 6 month and $50 for the year. When I calculate in the gift card, the effective rate is 80% less than the $5/ week I was paying. Not bad, considering we are only getting a fraction of the former paper. Btw, I am writing this while waiting for the digital edition to download. Just checked...no, not there yet. Looks like another Monday of reading the obscure sections of the Sunday paper.

I so agree that it sucks! I have been trying for over 2 hours and it still is not loaded. I am tempted to part ways with the Oregonian permanently!!

I agree with all that has been posted even though I haven't had the issues with downloading as the other commenters have related. But it has taken 2 or 3 tries to learn to navigate the web site.

We all realize the traditional newspaper industry is changing as we know it and I would argue as a lot of folks would, not for the better. However, I also don't want to be the little Dutch boy with his finger in the hole in the dam trying to hold back the inevitable flood.

Having stated that here are a couple of my issues:

1) The Oregonian cut my delivery by 3 days and now gives me the privilege of buying the paper at $1 at over 2000 outlets. Thank you so very much. You cut my delivery by 3 days and then want me to pay for the privilge of getting it at an outlet that I have to get in the car and drive to, unless I live in the city and can walk some where. If the Oregonian really cared they would give the weekly subscribers some method of identifying themselves as subscribers, thus allowing us to pick up a paper at the 'newstand' and not charge us twice for it.

2) My second beef: My wife likes the crossword. After 3 tries I finally figured out how to print it out correctly. Ah, but guess what. you have to go find the answers and print them to as they aren't on the same printout as the crossword. REALLY!!! Come on guys, think about how this is going to be used.

All in all as noted in previous posts, so far this SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!

The Oregonian changed hands a few years back. Ever since then it has been operated as if someone WANTS to drive it into the ground.
At that time, in the height of the recession, instead of lowering rates to their advertisers, they were charging exorbitant rates, yet trying to stick the advertisers into stupid little magazine style sections that no one reads. Also, the content started to really suck, for example, I remember seeing a front page article claiming "American Idol is Snarky." I have never once seen American Idol, and even I know it's snarky, so how is this Front Page news?
Since then, I've noticed many important, topical stories buried deep in the paper, rather than on the front page where these stories belong.
Another problem is that subscribers have been paying for their papers, but online readers have been getting their content free at oregonlive. Now online readers can still get free content at oregonlive, but those of us who actually read the paper are getting screwed out of it 3 days a week.
These changes, along with others that I have noticed add up to one thing: a conservative bought the so-called liberal Oregonian and is trying to drive it into the ground He's succeeding!
I miss Fred Stickel, et al!
Thanks for letting me rant.

I would just like to update what the Oregonian has done since I made that post earlier today. I have received the Oregonian at home for 20 years and if I have ever been behind on a bill they would send me a reminder in the mail. I received a rude voice message threatening to cut my service off if I did not pay right away. I have never in 20 years got a phone call unless it was a promotion for something. I called the Oregonian and I owe $32.24 as of today. Wow!! I called them back and told them to cancel my service. I was waiting to see if I liked the digital before I continued with it any longer which I do not and it sucks!! Still was not able to get it before I called them. So the Oregonian you have lost a 20 year customer and I feel bad for the carrier because I have always left a nice tip every Christmas!

The first week the digital edition loaded fine, now we are no longer to download the paper and receive a message saying the plug-in is not supported, w h at the heck does that mean and how do you get it supported?

I hate the new Oregonian format. Less papers, more money, poorly done digital format, which is laden with formatting errors, incorrect links and stories that just end before they reach the end.

I was going to give it a fair try, and it was passable until Monday 10/14/13. The digital edition wouldn't load. Went without the paper for 2 days, and finally called today. Apparently, for IPads, they changed something without telling anyone, and it requires cleaning out your browser history and cookies to make it work. Did that, still not working. Changed browser from Google to Safari, and it finally worked.

While I was on the phone with them today, I said I wanted a 2 day credit on my account since it was their fault I couldn't read the paper for 2 days. She told me that she'd ask, but couldn't promise anything, and that the digital version was provided as a COURTESY. Um, hello? I now pay $2.00 more per 8 weeks than before, and I get three fewer papers. How is providing the digital paper a courtesy?

I'm fed up, and am seriously considering cancelling and just buying the paper every day at Fred Meyer. Yes, it will be more expensive, but at least it will be reliable.

Hate, hate, hate it. Will follow up about the credit I requested. Probably won't get it. Stay tuned.

Oh, and to add to above. I had to spend another $1.00 at the store today to get yesterday's paper. You know, the one I already pay more for, even though I'm getting less. Yeah. What a deal.

I agree with all of the above. I am confused and irate, Please make it easier to get to. None of this headlinealley that is impossible.

Does anyone know of a good digital newspaper? I am thinking of dropping the Oregonian down to 2 days and getting news from other newspapers for the rest of the week. The Oregonian just does not know how to fix their computer issues. I am not fond of the Oregoni Live..

I like the online New York Times a lot. $15 a month for unlimited access. Worth it to me. You could supplement by visiting Oregon Live for free, and/or use Google News, perhaps with specific alerts for Oregon stories.

My Digital O works ok. Not happy about having to sit even more in front of the computer screen. I am retired, and one of my pleasures is to open the door, get the paper, sit in a comfortable chair and read the paper like I have done all my life. If it weren't for the sports reporting, I think I would cut my subscription to Sundays only.

I very much dislike Digital O. Today it won't load and I've tried numerous times. Not only big problems with the digital paper, but my delivery sucks. Every day it has been late. Sometimes up to an hour & a half! Is this service? Your representative didn't want to lodge my complaint, but I insisted. Don't want to bother calling every day. Wise up!

Update: I called the Oregonian today to cancel because I never heard back from anyone regarding my credit (see post above). I talked to a very nice woman, who wanted to know why I was canceling. I told her, and she offered a two week credit if I'd stay. She also said that some of their customer service is out of Texas, and that that's who I'd talked to. Lesson: try to talk to the people here in Portland. Anyhoo, I agreed to the credit, and kept the subscription.

If you have trouble loading the digital O, try clearing your cookies, and/or using a different browser. Google won't load it for me, but Safari will.

To add to above: The woman I talked to was Cecelia. She was very nice, and proactive. Call her at 503-221-8240 if you have problems.

I called them to change my seven day a week subscription to Sunday only. Found out they havent offered that option for years. I wasnt going to keep paying the same price for three fewer papers so I told them to cancel my subscription. Then she said just a miniue let me see if we have any deals. After a few minutes later she said they just happen to have a deal for 28 dollars rather than what I I was paying, 42. I would have never been offered that deal if I hadnt asked to cancel.

just would like to read my paper dammit .family time is coming to an end,,,, Digital air is here good job .....

What a whiner. It's fixed now. Your just have to be patient until they fix a few bugs, which are unavoidable with new applications.

Paul, here's a news flash -- that you won't get by reading the unreadable Oregonian:

I just checked MyDigitalO. It is just as unusable on my retina MacBook Pro as it was before. Nothing has changed.

It is impossible to scroll using the trackpad. The arrow keys on my laptop are non-functional on MyDigitalO. Clicking on the iPhone digital option results in an utterly frozen page. No ability to navigate using my laptop.

So everything is just as screwed up now as it was before. The Oregonian had done nothing, so far as I can tell, to improve its digital edition. And I still have gotten no response from my email to corporate managers.

Another newsflash (sarcasm works for me too)... Works fine on my MacBook Pro. Trackpad works fine on mine, just need to get used to the sudden movements. I suppose you have a right to complain, but your experience isn't everyone's experience with the Oregonian. As with any review that is posted on the net, I just take it with a grain of salt. The whole experience is new and I am sure that a few bugs will be done away with as soon as they can.

THANK YOU HEATHER!! I just called and they gave me the same deal. 52 weeks for $103.00 and the $50 gift card! WOO HOO! Although I am not thrilled with the digital edition and the lack of delivery, I am happier with the price. I actually had to ask. There is a promo and if you don't mention it, they won't either! Be nervy, it works.

I appreciated the information and experiences related in the post and comments but everyone seems to not be aware of a basic fact that may help it all make more sense: You and I, the subscribers and readers, are not the customers of "The Oregonion"; the advertisers are the customers. We are the product. They deliver our attention to the advertisers for a price.

Called twice to customer service this week and both calls routed to Texas call center and they were clueless on all my questions asked. Today a Portland service rep answered (hooray) and explained overcalls were routed to Texas. I inquired on above promo and it is $1.99 per week if prepay one year. No gift card extra though. Couldn't explain why promo wasn't noted on website or advertised. I had to ask. Explained to her that website wasn't working for entering new subscription (I put in my 97212 zipcode twice and it came back twice as undefined and to verify zipcode again!) Nothing is working well for Oregonian right now. I too hate MyDigitalO.

I hate it too. I've tried to read it on my Kindle Fire so I don't have to go into my office to read the news. It freezes on the first page. I can read magazines from the Fire (Android) but not this. Also, they recently added banners at the top and I cannot get a full screen view. I also note a LOT of editing missteps -- misspelled words and words used inappropriately. I am starting to think it's not worth reading at any price. I do miss sitting at the table and reading with my spouse in the morning. Looking for an alternative!

You have taken away the joy of enjoying the morning paper for retired people who now have time to be a reader. The digital paper is not working well and having morning coffee with a computer is not the same as the printed paper.
I am a senior but yes I have and know how to operate a computer.
Its just lousy service trying to maneuver thru it 3 days a week.
I now get my news on the 5pm TV broadcast.

Can’t receive the Digital Oregonian tried every day since Thanksgiving. . Called the paper at least 5 times didn't help. Had my own technician here for a whole day and he talked with the Oregonian support staff nothing. My subscription runs out the 14 th guess what I am going to do? Even called Comcast. . Any one else having same problem? Hope you can help me.I have a hearing problem and almost impossible talking on phone and they have hardly any email answers. That is why I had to hire a technician.
No Data received message Anyone else have this problem?
Thanking you in advance Bill Keefer

I have read and then subscribed to The Oregonian since I moved to Portland in 2007 on retiring. I hated the whole idea of the digital edition and the cutback on home delivery. I hate that the current ownership of the paper has dumped a lot of good reporters and columnists and loaded the opinion pages down with conservative crazies (OK, George Will isn't crazy, just misguided). I hate that the subscription rate wasn't reduced enough to reflect three missing days.

That said, the experience online has been okay for me. I was away most of October, so started on MyDigitalO when maybe some of the bugs were eliminated. I have an iMac desktop with Mozilla/Firefox browser, and have no trouble accessing the site, scrolling, clicking to get enlarged section of page, double-clicking to get retyped complete article, etc. The most annoying thing is the difficulty of doing the NYT crossword. I don't have a working printer, so I have to scribble out the day's grid pattern on scrap paper. Grrr. I much prefer a physical newspaper on paper (as its name implies!), but MyD.O is a reasonable substitute. By the way, I have found and still find Oregon Live almost unusable, even though they claim it has been improved. Count the number of clicks and false leads to access the daily TV listings!

Some of the problem readers are having may be due to modern computer technology. Microsoft and Apple and the rest are forever reinventing the wheel so one can buy, buy, buy the newest gadget. My six-year-old iMac works fine(so far), and MyDigitalO works fine on it. If you have a desktop, try accessing MyD.O on that instead of on a pad or tablet or phone. Also, I recommend Firefox.

as usual, first page comes up, can.t scroll, can,t do any thing.another day without a croddword. thinking it is about time to dump the Orgonian.


I have been an Oregonian reader since I was a little kid--raised in a family for which reading the newspaper was part of the necessary daily routine.
When the paper changed to digital last year, I managed to figure out how to navigate the digital version--on my iPad it was okay. Not great but okay. However, neither my mom nor my father-in-law,in their 80s can do it. And they're subscribers.
But at the beginning of this week, I hit a really irritating roadblock. I tried to go to the Monday digital edition and I could not access the paper because I have NOT JOINED. I could not find a way to get to my newspaper without filling out a form giving them my email and other information and signing up for 'special' stuff. So I closed the app and went my way. The last thing I want is something other than just reliable well-written news and related features. Astonishing. And they still manage to throw one of the physical versions of the paper under my car at least every other week--I can't get the paper without moving the car or crawling under it. Nope, not wanting to join.

I am once again having trouble printing my puzzles. I was told the difficult was with Mozilla. I was pleased with the help telling me to press CTRL and P. It worked fine but today I was told to connect to a fax server.I am becoming more frustrated and unhappy with paying the full price and getting less and less. Please fix the printing situation.

I hate the digital O. There need to be an index so i/ don't have to scroll it page by page ti find what I want. The site really needs some tuning up.

Can't stand the 4 day a week delivery! Love the crosswords, but 3 days a week have to print them out on computer and size is reduced too small to read. Will cancel very soon!

You can add my name to this list. I cannot believe how much time I have wasted trying to access this so called Digital Rag.

Couldn't agree more. I've pretty much given up. This software must have been written by pre-school coders.

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Your Information

(Name is required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)

Strange Up Salem

Welcome to HinesSight

  • Salem Political Snark
    My local political rants are now made on this badass blog. Check it out. Dirty politics, outrageous actions, sleaze, backroom deals — we’re on it. 

  • Twitter with me
    Join Twitter and follow my tweets about whatever.
  • Church of the Churchless
    Visit my other weblog, Church of the Churchless, where the gospel of spiritual independence is preached.

  • Welcome to HinesSight. If this is your first visit, click on "About this site--start here" in the Categories section below.