St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Update: Every time I stop by the app to see if it’s any better, if I can read even one story, I am reminded how horrible it is — and I think the paper loses another opportunity for me to add to their readership numbers, to improve their metrics, to see the advertising, and to support their writers by participating. They won’t get $26/month from me for just one interest, and I wonder: Where do they make the most money? Digital subscriptions or advertising? They, obviously, want both. How many people have just walked away, taking their eyeballs with them? I pay for great journalism, local and national, and I want to support the hometown paper and its writers (particularly the great Derrick Goold) … but $26/month is insane. (And is it a month or one time cost? I get confused.) I get digital editions of WaPost and NYT for much less. I don’t live in STL or the region, so I have specific interests: this case Cardinals, Blues, St Louis City FC … let me pay a fair price for these. On top of the economics, the digital app remains horrid in so many ways, including intrusive advertising and stunningly poor usability. Here is what the big wigs need to know: Instead of driving me to you, you’re driving me away. I want to support you, I want to pay you a fair price, but your economics and app make it impossible.

First of all, I am grateful for having an online source for local news. Having said that, I believe that there is news other than the Cardinals. I know that it creates views, but many people want to know what's actually happening in our area. One thing that irritates me are the house spotlight features. Taking pictures of garden trolls or a family heirloom does not express the architectural merit of a house. Get a new home feature photographer/writer if you are going to do these type of stories. Do you guys have spellcheck? In this day and age there is no excuse to misspell words. It's as if the writers were in high school finishing their homework in the hallway. I know investigative reporting costs money, but I deserve content after watching 15 seconds of a Bommarito commercial. I sometimes read stories where I can't figure out the chronology or connection of events. They are stories and you are supposed to be storytellers. Missouri is supposed to to have a great J school, get some interns who want to bolster their resume. As much as I whine about STL Today, it is the first thing I check, after my emails, in the morning. It's all we have.

I like receiving alerts of headline news. It is a good way to keep up when I am busy. I disagree with the complaints in other reviews about the number of crime in St. Louis. Please don't cut them out. I do want to know, especially when there are protests and such going on. My only complaint is that you wait until after the fact. I wish you would send crime alert concurrently, so I know to avoid the area at the time. I almost walked into the Galleria during the protests last week, but did not out of pure luck. Thirty minutes after the protests were over, you sent an article about what had happened. If the police know, you should know. Don't wait.