After a couple of weeks of operating with digital subscriptions, this week this editor decided to email the first 100 people who signed up for an illawarramercury.com.au subscription to ask them for their feedback.
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With some of the comments from our “friends” on social media being quiet vitriolic, I wanted to see what those who were prepared to support us and local journalism thought. Several responses came back almost instantly. And of the many responses in total, every one of them – with one exception who had a technical issue – was overwhelmingly positive in approach.
A couple of the first responses we received are below. The responses were a tonic to the soul of our newsroom.
One reader said_
“I am very surprised by the wide extent of coverage I now get by subscribing to your digital edition, for a very low cost I now get full coverage of news, sport, current affairs happening in the Illawarra, and because of my senior years I can now access the hatches, matches and deceased persons , which I also find excellent.”
Another said _
“Thank you for your digital coverage, easily accessed in the comfort of my home. Thanks for your email to the Illawarra Mercury’s first 100 subscribers. There are things I wish the Mercury did better – fewer typos and grammatical errors being at the top of the list. But those things are small in type and number compared to the things it does right:
- Having reporters and photographers on the ground, talking to local sources, reporting local news, and even conducting investigatory journalism
- Working to create and maintain a sense of community for the region without too much parochialism
- Taking a compassionate stance on potentially inflammatory, dog-whistle issues such as refugees and asylum seekers and indigenous affairs
- Working to provide a genuine community service and prompt long-term change by instigating or supporting campaigns on mental health, suicide awareness campaigns and other important topics; and
- Making a conscious effort to tell good news stories and not just fall back on court reporting, car crashes and disgruntled ratepayers.
I appreciate all those things and I value having access to coverage of local news. If I want it to continue, I need to ante up. I subscribed because I want the Mercury to survive. Best wishes for the future and keep up the good work.
_ By Illawarra Mercury editor Julian O’Brien.
