Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest Waste Ever (VIII)

December 2, 2019

As one of the Boston Herald’s 17 home subscribers, the hardreading staff noted numerous times over the past few years how the print edition of the skimpy local tabloid was often missing late-breaking news and – especially – sports scores.

That deficiency became even more glaring when the Herald shifted its printing a year and a half ago from the Boston Globe’s Taunton facility to the Providence Journal’s Rhode Island press, moving deadlines up to, oh, tea time.

(That contributed in no small part to our dropping the print subscription after several decades and going all-digital.)

But at least the Herald E-Edition would deliver the the later stuff.

Not any more.

Here’s the E-Edition reporting on the New England Patriots’ unthinkable (lookin’ at you, Dan Shaughnessy) loss to the Houston Texans last night.

 

 

As it says at the bottom of the left-hand page, you can get full coverage of last night’s game here.

But at that point, why would you bother?


Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest. Waste. Ever.(VII)

May 23, 2014

As one of the 17 home subscribers the Boston Herald boasts, the hardreading staff has drastically reduced its expectations of the local daily. But the paper has failed to clear even that low bar. Actually it failed to jump at all today.

The foisty local tabloid told us it had “printing problems” last night. But of course the Herald has printing problems every night, BECAUSE ITS PRINTER IS ALSO ITS CROSSTOWN RIVAL.  So for the most part either 1) the Herald’s early edition gets printed – what? – 24 hours in advance, or 2) it doesn’t get printed at all.

Neither of those fates, unsurprisingly, is ever visited upon the Boston Globe.

Regardless, here’s the front page that did not land at the door of the Global Worldwide Headquarters this AM.

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-23 at 4.20.10 PM

 

Sleepy’s, eh? Sounds about right.

 


Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest. Waste. Ever. (VI)

May 19, 2014

As the hardlyreading staff noted this past weekend, our front porch failed to nestle a Boston Herald delivery either Friday or Saturday.

But yesterday the twicey local tabloid tried to make up for it by delivering two copies of the Sunday edition.

Page One of the first:

 

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Just for the record, Page One of the second:

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-19 at 1.31.45 AM

 

Okay, we’re done now.

 


Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest. Waste. Ever. (V)

May 17, 2014

From our Tab-void desk

As one of the 17 home subscribers to the Boston Herald, the hardreading staff has exceedingly low expectations in terms of quality of service.  But the heisty local tabloid has hit new lows this week.

Yesterday: No paper. “Printing problems,” they said. (What – Howie ran out of crayons?) But, the nice lady assured us, they’d include it with today’s delivery.

Today: Forget two – we got no Heralds this morning.  But we did get Barron’s. (Your head scratch goes here.)

Front page:

 

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Just for the record, front page of today’s Herald that we never got:

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-17 at 1.47.37 PM

 

Yeah. Whatever.

 


Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest. Waste. Ever. (IV)

March 16, 2014

As the splendid readers of Two-Daily Town might remember, the hardreading staff is one of 17 home subscribers (a.k.a. The Few. The Proud. The Idiots) the Boston Herald boasts.

Consequently, here’s the front page of the fusty local tabloid that hit our porch this morning (tip o’ the pixel to the Missus).

 

IMG_2993

 

Right: All sports, all the time.

By contrast, here’s the front page of today’s Boston Globe.

 

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Exactly.

A later edition of the Herald did feature this front page, but the corn was off the cob by then. 

 

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We can’t wait until the Globe starts printing its papers  – and the Herald’s – in Millbury (see Dan Kennedy’s piece here). At that point the Sunday Herald will likely roll off the presses sometime Friday afternoon.

Fusty, indeed.

 


Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest. Waste. Ever. (III)

October 31, 2013

Well the halfreading staff just got another call from the Heraldniks (rhymes with nudniks) who told us yes, we would not get the Boston Herald delivered to our home today. We should get it tomorrow, though.herald-zap

But good news! As subscribers we have free access to the fusty local tabloid’s E-Edition.

Hey, tell us something we don’t know. As the splendid readers of Two-Daily Town are likely aware, we often find the digital version of the Herald useful.

But – news flash! – we take the paper because we prefer reading it in print form.

Apparently we’ll be doubling our pleasure tomorrow.


Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest. Waste. Ever. (II)

October 31, 2013

From our Or You Could Just Set Your Money on Fire desk

Call us the halfreading staff today. Earlier this morning we got a call from a Heraldnik saying the fusty local tabloid was experiencing printing problems so we might get our home-delivered copy of the Boston Herald this afternoon or maybe (and more likely, we’re guessing) along with tomorrow’s edition.

Seriously? Then again, we have had these kinds of problems before.

Just for the record, here’s Page One of today’s Boston Herald (via their E-Edition):

 

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And in the interest of fairness, here’s the Boston Globe’s front page:

 

Screen Shot 2013-10-31 at 12.43.57 PM

 

That one we got at home.


Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest. Waste. Ever.

October 21, 2013

From our Or You Could Just Set Your Money on Fire desk

The hardreading staff had a neighbor some years ago who objected to our Boston Herald home subscription on the grounds that a Herald on our front porch “reduced property values.”

Yeesh.

But now we’re wondering about the value of the Herald itself.

Page One of Sunday’s home-delivered feisty local tabloid:

 

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Sports section Page One:

 

IMG_2447

 

(Photos courtesy of the Missus)

Sure, later editions (and the electronic edition) of the Herald sported this front page:

 

Screen Shot 2013-10-21 at 12.26.46 AM

 

But that didn’t do the hardreading staff any good.

The thing is, as home subscribers we’re the guaranteed money for the fusty local tabloid. And all 17 of us are getting lousy value for the dollar.

The hardreading staff, for one, is not happy.


Herald’s Boston/LA Byline Bakeoff a Big Baseball Bust

October 25, 2018

Taking a cue from the Boston Globe’s Home/Away feature that matches up Globe columnist Christopher Gasper with a columnist from the hometown paper of that week’s Patriots opponent, the Boston Herald ran this on page 2 of Tuesday’s edition.

Good idea, if derivative. Tuesday’s columns were a compare ‘n’ contrast of the respective ballyards of the World’s Serious rivals, with Fenway holding the obvious edge.

But then yesterday Alexander wrote about the Bruins-Kings NHL rivalry, and Pelletier nattered on about Bobby Orr vs. Wayne Gretzky, which seemed more than odd to the headscratching staff.

And today?

 

 

 

Seriously? That’s just idiotic.

Of course, the columnists can’t write about what they should be – namely, last night’s baseball game – because the flimsy local tabloid is printed in East Jesus, Rhode Island around dinnertime the night before.

We’ll say it again.

Boston Herald Subscription: Biggest. Waste.Ever.


Hark! The Herald! (Useless Print Edition Edition)

March 22, 2018

Umpteenth in our never-ending series

On numerous occasions the hardreading staff has referred to a Boston Herald subscription as Biggest. Waste. Ever.

And now we’re back.

Page 3 of today’s selfie local tabloid is entirely devoted to this piece bylined “Herald Staff,” the designation routinely employed in passing off press releases as actual news.

Herald moves print production to Providence Journal

The Boston Herald is now being printed in Providence, which means our loyal customers can look forward to a more reader-friendly paper.

Beginning this week, the Herald is being printed at the The Providence Journal’s flexographic newspaper printing facility, which was North America’s first entirely flexographic printing facility when it opened in 1987. The Journal selected the flexo process because it creates a paper with vibrant color reproduction and uses an environmentally friendly, water-based ink that won’t have the paper rubbing off on your hands.

 

More reader-friendly?

Here’s what this reader got on today’s Scoreboard pages.

The redoubtable Dan Kennedy at Media Nation called this one several days ago: “I’m hearing reports from inside the Herald that the switch will require deadlines so early that evening sports stories may not make the print edition.”

Bingo.

(To be sure graf goes here)

To be sure, the Herald at times gave readers the same short shrift when the Boston Globe printed it.

(Two be sure graf goes here)

Also to be sure, the e-Edition of the spotty local tabloid did have yesterday’s results.

But we’re shelling out good money for the print edition while getting less news for the buck all the time.

So, Heraldniks, we say this as you celebrate your new printing setup: Not a providential beginning. Not by a long shot.