More news you count on, delivered in many ways

Jul. 13—Last week, our publisher, Bill Albrecht, detailed the need for a change in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's business model that will result in a shift from carrier delivery to using the U.S. Postal Service starting Aug. 3.

Today, I'm going to spend some time outlining what you can expect in terms of the timing and format of our news and other content as a result of this shift.

First, though, I want to take just a second to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who have expressed your support for the work we do and your understanding of the reasons for this change. If I could give you a big hug and tell you how much I appreciate you in person, I absolutely would (COVID-19 be damned!).

Many of you know how hard our team of dedicated journalists works to cover Cheyenne, Laramie County and other parts of southeast Wyoming, often under difficult circumstances (along with our advertising, production and distribution teams, and other support staff). With this change, my intention — and that of the superhero news staff I have the privilege to lead — is to continue to provide you the best content possible to connect you with your community.

I also want to clear up any confusion that exists about when you can expect to receive your news printed on paper and when it will be available online only. Starting Wednesday, Aug. 3, we will print four consecutive days, and those newspapers will be in your mailbox the same day. Our first new weekend edition will be Saturday, Aug. 6.

From that point on, we will have an e-Edition on Sundays and Tuesdays, which is an electronic version of the newspaper that you can page through on your computer or tablet. The only day we won't have a new edition of what looks like or actually is a physical newspaper will be Monday.

Yes, this is a reduction in print by one day. But it's also an additional day of news organized like a newspaper, since we don't currently have a print or e-Edition on Tuesdays.

I also had a member of my church ask me this past Sunday if we were eventually going to go completely digital. I was honest with her and told her that we will continue to follow consumer behaviors, and yes, if that time comes, it will be because of how the majority of consumers use our products and services. I also shared with her that this member of Generation X grew up reading a daily newspaper, and I still prefer holding paper in my hand, too, just as I prefer to read a physical book, rather than a Kindle, Nook or iPad.

At the same time, my main priority today is the same as it was when I arrived at the WTE in October 1998 — providing the news, sports, entertainment and advertising content that our community needs.

The reality is, many of us in the newspaper business tend to be extremely reluctant to change. We get comfortable doing things the way they've always been done, and we have to be jolted out of our comfort zones and into a new way of doing things.

Which brings me to the main point of today's column. Next month, our customers will see some changes; yet, many things stay the same.

The Wednesday paper will be much the same as it is today. But starting Aug. 4, the ToDo section will shift by one day to Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Arts and entertainment/features reporter Will Carpenter and I believe this will be a good change, as we reposition some of our regular features and add more.

Will plans to start a new Thursday feature called "Will's Weekend Picks," which will be a column highlighting some don't-miss events for the coming weekend. He also will be working hard to provide even more calendar listings from around the region, along with continuing to look ahead on Saturdays to the week to come.

Our plan is for the Saturday ToDo section to be larger and feature more milestones and school news, as well as parenting/family, technology, home improvement, decorating, gardening and other news that's relevant to the way we live today. I'd love to add more features for kids, as well, so we'll be on the lookout for ways to add that content, too.

While the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday papers will remain two sections, we will return to a four-section newspaper for the weekend edition. Since there won't be a Sunday print edition, we will provide a solid mix of daily coverage from Friday, along with longer, more in-depth features that you can sit with and enjoy throughout the weekend. These will be a mix of local, statewide and national stories, again with the focus being reader interest and relevance.

Our award-winning Opinion content will expand on Saturdays to four pages, with all of the pieces you currently read on Sunday shifting to Saturday. We also plan to provide more editorials and columnists from around Wyoming, as well as pro-con columns and plenty of reader feedback, both in the form of letters to the editor and online comments.

We are developing additional improvements, such as providing more Money, Science/Medicine and Health content that we know readers enjoy.

Now to the question I know is on the forefront of your mind: What's going to happen to my puzzles? Believe me, having been at the WTE as long as I have, I know it's jarring every time we have to change the comics or puzzles pages. Which is why we plan to publish the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday puzzle pages in the Wednesday print edition and move the large weekend crossword puzzle to Saturday.

The only way to make this change possible is to move the Monday and Tuesday comics pages into the Tuesday e-Edition. The color comics section that's currently found in Sunday's paper will move to the Saturday Weekend Edition.

For those of you who don't want to wait until your mail arrives, I would remind you that our website and app are updated at 5 a.m. each day, and the latest e-Edition (soon to be available six days a week) goes up at the same time. If you haven't done so already, get your digital access set up by going online to wyomingnews.com/help.

For our print readers, we also will be making a conscious effort to publish event announcements a day or two earlier to accommodate for later mail delivery times.

We also plan to launch several email newsletters, starting with WyoSports and Arts/Entertainment, through which you can have links to specialized content sent directly to your inbox.

Beyond those main changes, subscribers can count on our WyoSports team here in Cheyenne and in Laramie to continue providing outstanding coverage of the University of Wyoming, Laramie County Community College and high school sports, in print, via the e-Edition and online at WyoSports.net (included with your subscription).

And we invite you to follow us on social media for links to a variety of content, as well as breaking news. We're on Facebook at facebook.com/wtenews/ and on Twitter @WTEnews.

Once again, I want to say thank you for your ongoing support. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be here, but thanks to you, we will be for generations to come!

If you have feedback or questions, please feel free to call us at 307-621-9317 Thursday morning between 7:30 and 9:30. And, as always, I am available at other times at 307-633-3120.

Brian Martin is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's managing editor. He can be reached by email at bmartin@wyomingnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @briankmartin.