Herald, Foster's, News-Letter, Union and York Weekly moving to mail delivery in April
Starting April 1, the U.S. Postal Service will be delivering the Portsmouth Herald, Foster's Daily Democrat, Hampton Union, Exeter News-Letter and York Weekly newspapers.
The York County Coast Star will continue to be delivered by mail as it has been for the past several years.
"The move from driver delivery to postal service delivery is another step in Seacoast Media Group's evolution from a print-first to a digital-first news and marketing source," said Executive Editor Howard Altschiller. "Our unwavering commitment to the Seacoast communities and readers we serve remains rock solid. Readers looking for the latest Seacoast news, sports and advertising can count on Seacoastonline, Fosters.com and our printed newspapers to deliver."
Like many other newspaper publishers, Gannett Co. Inc., which operates more than 200 daily local newspapers, including Seacoast Media Group's papers in New Hampshire and Maine, has already successfully introduced the switch from driver delivery to mail in dozens of markets across the country, and is expanding the initiative.
The markets which have switched to mail delivery report high customer satisfaction rates. While the paper will arrive later in the day with the mail, it will arrive consistently in the same place at the same time. In recent years it has been a challenge to adequately staff the delivery force needed to hand deliver papers across the Seacoast region of New Hampshire and Maine.
Papers will be delivered to local post offices early enough each morning to allow same-day delivery. Because there is no mail delivery on Sunday, Seacoast Sunday will arrive in mailboxes on Saturday. The digital replica of the Sunday paper, the eNewspaper, will post to Seacoastonline and Fosters.com on Sunday morning.
The change to postal delivery will not impact subscription rates.
“For many years now, the printed newspaper has served as a culmination of the stories that will become our collective history, while our websites and mobile apps deliver the news of the day,” said Michael A. Anastasi, vice president of local news for Gannett. “We know that by the time our informed readers pick up the paper, they know what happened yesterday — the print newspaper should provide additional context, to help readers better understand their community and the world around them.”
Readers can also visit Seacoastonline.com and Fosters.com to access the eNewspaper at seacoastonline.com/enewspaper and fosters.com/enewspaper.
Subscribers will receive letters in the mail before the delivery change is implemented. The notifications will also include instructions on accessing digital products.
Subscribers with questions or concerns can visit help.seacoastonline.com/contact-us and help.fosters.com/contact-us.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast Media Group newspapers moving to mail delivery in April
