So, I've been thinking for a while I should maybe subscribe to the Kansas City Star to support local reporting, important as I think it is. If they don't have the reporters out there, covering local news, local government and keeping our representatives in check, who else is going to? Some local blogger, in his mother's basement, practicing caustic "yellow journalism" at its worst, with ALL CAPS HEADLINES, inciting his very racist readers and commenters?
I don't think so.
So I tried to get an unlimited online subscription.
Wow.
You would not believe how difficult they make it to do this.
I tried going online to subscribe but they don't offer, simply, an online subscription there. It's unlimited online plus the paper or nothing at all.
Already. Right there. Do you realize how crazy that is, in this day of people wanting their news online? They should offer the online subscription, right up front, period. People are wanting, possibly, to throw money at them but they don't give that option. Insane. And that's just to start.
So I phone.
Oh, brother.
The first message there, on the phone, is that their "call volume is heavy and there may be a wait."
What the what??
Call volume may be heavy?
Are you freaking kidding me?
It's the Kansas City Star. It's a newspaper. Your subscriptions and list of readers has famously been falling FOR YEARS. People are DROPPING the paper, not picking it up. Everyone knows this. It's a nationwide, very well known phenomenon and it's local, as well. We all know this.
So they then give you a bunch of recorded options but all of them assume you are already a subscriber.
Get that.
They don't even put on an option to TAKE ON NEW SUBSCRIBERS.
All they can do is respond to you if you're already taking the paper. It's insane. No simple, "To become a new subscriber, press lucky 7" or anything like it. If you don't take the paper already, it doesn't recognize you, can't recognize you and so, you have to respond with something else, as though you are already subscribing, in hopes that someone will come on and help you actually GET AN ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION.
But here's the next problem. I did just that. Pushed the buttons, gave them the responses so I could actually get a person to speak to so I could subscribe.
I was put on hold.
Again.
It went on and on.
Frankly, I had to clean up to get to work.
Here's the deal.
You can't subscribe to the local paper, to the Kansas City Star. Or if you can, they certainly don't make it easy.
You would think they would have a link on their home page online to do so but no.
Then you would think they would have quick, easy prompts, to actually get to someone, on the phone, who could and would help you do just that, to get a subscription.
But they don't.
Honestly, at this point, I've no idea how to subscribe to the paper unless one has oodles of time in the middle of the day.
Good luck, Star.
I have no idea how you're going to survive.
And this from a guy who is convinced newspapers are important.
