Posts filed under 'Rockford Register Star'
August 20th, 2009
Today, you’ll see the section letter “C” on Thursday’s People section.
This is nothing new. It’s fallen in that position for almost a year.
Before that, the section used to be inserted. Why the change? You don’t really want the boring, complicated details about press configurations. …
The bottom line? Readers really like order. Seeing the A section and the B section and then no C section was disconcerting to some of you, so we gave People “a C section,” one e-mailer joked.
Readers like order so much, in fact, that I had one tell me he always wanted B to be Local and C to be Sports and so forth, darn it! If only it were that easy. News and advertising needs change daily, and our new press, while wonderful, cannot print just any number of pages or sections we want. It’s a balancing act.
July 12th, 2009
Today, we concluded our seven-day advertising campaigned called “The Facts. Our Future.”
Each ad appeared on page 4A with a message from Register Star President and Publisher Scott Bowers that started with this:
For more than 154 years, we have been the Rock River Valley’s leading news, information and advertising source. I am committed to our future – in print and online. We are neither dead nor dying. It’s time to state that clearly, to set straight the half-truths, and reassure our readers and advertisers we are here for your and our future.
The seven separate messages were:
1. Our “diversified portfolio” makes us more than a newspaper, broadens our audience and drives results for our advertisers: Unlike our competitors, Register Star Media’s portfolio is not limited to one or two products. We have a diverse lineup that includes: the daily and Sunday Register Star, rrstar.com, Rockford Woman magazine, BusinessRockford.com, HealthyRockford.com, The Weekly, Boone County Weekly, RockfordWheels.com and RockfordHomeOnline.com. We also include RiverView Printing, which has increased its commercial printing volume since the launch of our new offset press in May 2006.
2. Seven days in print and always online: Here now. Here in the future: We publish the Register Star seven days a week. We will continue to publish seven days a week. We will continue to develop our Web sites. We are a viable business. We have weathered the economic declines in the Rock River Valley.
3. More adults read the Rockford Register Star today than in 2005: Seventy one percent of adults read the Register Star over the past seven days. That’s 189,100 adults 18 and over – an increase of more than 8,023 readers since 2005. On an average Sunday, we reach 57 percent of the adults in the market, an increase of 12,279 readers. Almost three of every four adults is a Register Star reader. Our readers mirror the diversity of the Rock River Valley. They are young and old and in-between. It is not true that “only old people read the Register Star.” We deliver a diverse and extensive audience every day. No other medium comes close.
4. RRStar.com is the most powerful news and advertising Web site in the Rock River Valley: We reach more than twice as many online users in a typical month as our local online competitors. RRStar.com is by far the leading local Web site in terms of past-month reach. The nearest competitors reach only 10 percent of the market in a typical month. The chicagotribune.com reaches only 5 percent. RRStar.com’s “sister sites” include RockfordWoman.com, BusinessRockford.com, HealthyRockford.com, RockfordWheels.com and RockfordHomeOnline.com.
5. Television and radio cannot deliver audience and results like Register Star Media: No single television station reaches more than one in three adults – in any time slot. No radio station reaches more than one in 10. The Register Star will reach almost one in two adults with its average weekday reach of 45 percent – greater than the reach of any single television or radio station in the market.
6. We connect advertisers with their customers – and get results for both: Almost six of 10 adults in the market say the Register Star is their primary advertising source for the stores where they shop. More adults consistently turn to the Register Star than to other media for advertising for vehicles, real estate, groceries and jobs – making the newspaper and rrstar.com the primary source for advertising in the Rock River Valley. Over the past five years, over 1,140 Rock River Valley businesses have invested consistently in advertising with Register Star Media, placing ads every year since 2004.
7. We make a difference. We get results. We are what you know. Now and in the future. These are remarkable times that challenge the men and women of the News Tower. We know and accept our responsibility to serve the Rock River Valley as the leading information source that empowers our community, while never compromising our principles. We hold our elected officials and our community leaders accountable. We demand that they do the public’s business in public. We give voice to those who are the least among us. We care for our customers and ensure they get the results they expect. We value each reader – in print and online. We stumble at times and we admit our mistakes, learn from them and move on. We strive always to do the right thing – now and in the future. Whether we do it in print or do it in holograms, we will remain the leading information source in the Rock River Valley – now and in the future.
Each was concluded with this:
We are number one in the country in combined newspaper and online reach. We reach 87.6 percent of adults 18-and-over in Boone and Winnebago counties. That’s almost a quarter of a million people.
July 10th, 2009
Assistant business editor Isaac Guerrero noted the nice photo of the News Tower on the Rockford Area Association of Realtors site. Looks like Waterfront time.
May 29th, 2009
Starting today on Page 2A of the newspaper, you’ll find a daily Midwest Report anchoring news from nearby states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana and Michigan for the most part, since they have similar or pertinent issues to us in Illinois.
This will ensure we get this news to you consistently.
You’ll also notice that we’re anchoring the Illinois Report in Local&State on its fourth page for the same reason.
Of course, you can find wire news 24/7 on rrstar.com and customize your feeds.
May 21st, 2009
We all could use a break in this economy, right?
On Friday and Sunday, just in time for Memorial Day weekend, the Register Star is holding the Great Stimulus Event, bonus sections crammed with full-page ads from more than 60 local retailers. Friday’s section will be 48 pages; Sunday’s, 56.
In addition to finding great deals, you’ll have the chance to win $500 in print and $500 online.
Look for posters at participating businesses as well.
I gave you the basics. My boss tells the story more in depth here.
April 25th, 2009
This Sunday in the Register Star, you’ll find deals from more than 25 local retailers on mini-wraps around the main news and classified sections.
They will be labeled “Stretched… Savings for your home, your family, your life.”
April 22nd, 2009
On Saturday, the Register Star will honor 40 young local students for their efforts in school and in their community at a luncheon at Cliffbreakers. We gave out the first Young American award in 1957.
Each year, leading up to the banquet, we profile winners from 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago. Check out our database of former winners and read profiles of the five we caught up with this year.
April 8th, 2009
This weekend, the Register Star kicked off garage sale season. Even though it’s a little chilly yet, I saw at least 11 listings so far.
Check out this promotion:
For as little as $23.91, you can get….
– A five-line classified ad that runs for three days in the newspaper and online.
– Three yellow garage sale signs, a tip sheet, a sales record form and a checklist.
– One ticket to the Rockford Speedway, good for any Saturday.
– The option to participate in our assurance program. For just $10 more, you get a classified ad that runs for three more days to sell the rest of your stuff.
Call 815-962-2400 or go online.
March 9th, 2009
If you didn’t see the note in Sunday’s newspaper, we’ve resumed full distribution of What’s On TV.
You can find the week’s worth of TV listings wrapped around the comics, coupons and ad fliers.
Last month, the Register Star had started an “opt-in” program, meaning if you wanted the TV book you’d get it but if you didn’t, you wouldn’t. The goal was to cut costs, but demand in the market for the book was so great, this move did not end up saving money.
February 9th, 2009
Nominations are open now for the Register Star’s annual Young American Award, which has honored 40 or so outstanding high school students since 1957.
So go ahead and do a good thing today: Make sure our area’s best and brightest are recognized.
SCOTT MORGAN | RRSTAR.COM FILE PHOTO
2008 Young American Award winner Stavhn Leavy stands with Register Star Publisher Fritz Jacobi (right) and keynote speaker Lisa Frost on Saturday, May 3, 2008, during the 51st annual Rockford Register Star Young American Awards Banquet at Cliffbreakers in Rockford.
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