Commitment to trusted local news remains steadfast
By J.C. Derrick
Publisher
On a spring day in 2022, John Ricketson and I spent several hours together and developed an immediate rapport. We swapped journalism war stories and talked about the past, present and future of The Apopka Chief, where he had devoted more than four decades of his storied career.
John had seen a lot of highs in the business, from breaking major stories to winning statewide awards and serving as the chair of the Florida Press Association board of directors. He was also well aware of the challenges facing our industry.
The impending retirement of longtime Chief editor John Peery is what had sparked our meeting, but that wasn’t the only thing on J.R.’s mind. He said he knew the Chief needed to modernize and that he was not the person to lead that transition.
“Someone is going to have to buy it on potential,” he said about the Chief’s next owner.
That’s exactly what Mainstreet Daily News did last week when we closed on the sale of the Chief. The Ricketson family has offered us their full support as we implement much of the Chief’s modernization in the very first issue, which wouldn’t have been possible without their collaboration.
The changes all start with you—the reader. In December we conducted a survey in which readers we asked what you enjoy most about the Chief and what you would like to see more of in the paper.
Two themes stood out: You asked for 1) less opinion and more reporting, and 2) less national focus and more local government, business and community news. We are seeking to deliver on these requests from this very first issue, with more originally reported local content and an opinion section that is limited to a single page featuring Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore, Orange County School Board Member Melissa Byrd, and starting this week, Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson.
We want you to hear from your elected officials about local issues on the opinion page, but we also want to hear more from you in what we hope will be a robust letters to the editor section.
Other survey feedback included inconsistency with mail delivery of the paper, which we are aiming to solve with implementation of home delivery starting this week in the heart of Apopka. Those who live outside the delivery zone will continue to receive the paper by mail.
While we’re excited to bring a larger broadsheet format and full color to the Chief, probably the biggest shift is making the paper free. This is why we are suspending publication of The Planter, a 60-year-old free newspaper that was ahead of its time.
The controlled delivery model is today a rising force in local news. Mainstreet Daily News has found success with it in Gainesville, expanding weekly print circulation to 20,000 across two zones, and Tampa Bay Newspapers (TBN)—part of the Tampa Bay Times family of companies—has grown to a dozen titles using controlled delivery in Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough and Hernando counties.
This model is what is allowing us to increase circulation to 10,000, and it’s what attracted Publix to begin inserting its grocery and liquor ads in the Chief starting with the Feb. 21 issue. We’re excited to have those running in the Chief each week.
Of the 10,000 copies, 8,000 will be home delivered, while 2,000 will appear in the dozens of Chief racks and boxes around town—only now they’ll be free. We don’t want anyone to have to go far to pick up a free newspaper.
We drew the lines for the home delivery area to encompass as many paid subscribers as possible. For those who live outside the home delivery area and wish to continue receiving the paper via mail, you can continue to do so by paying to cover the mailing cost.
We are also dropping the paywall at theapopkachief.com and shifting to a digital-first approach, meaning stories will go online when they are ready, not when the print edition is published. We hope you will begin sharing these timely Chief stories with your friends and family online.
While the traditional subscription model is going away for most people, reader revenue remains an important part of a successful news business. We’ll have more to announce soon on how you can get involved. Good local news requires community support—something the Chief has always enjoyed from Apopka residents.
We appreciate your patience as we implement these changes at the Chief, which we know will come with their fair share of challenges. The delivery model is changing, but we are unwavering in our commitment to keep delivering local news you can trust.
John always called himself the caretaker of the Chief, because it belongs to the community. Mainstreet sees itself the same way. We are doing everything we can to be a good steward of this community jewel and put the Chief on a firm footing for its next 100 years.
The Apopka Chief is an award-winning weekly newspaper serving the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923.
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