To Read, Or Not To Read – Let Us Know!
By Jane | May 11th, 2009 | Category: Miscellany | 9 comments
Last week I got an interesting email from a regular reader, Tandra, concerning our local weekly paper, The Fort Mill Times. Tandra has lived in Fort Mill for a decade and for most of that time received her weekly copy of the newspaper. However, in the past year or so, all deliveries to her street stopped, and she presumed that the FMT no longer offered free papers to residents. Recently she found out a neighbor on the street behind her has still been receiving her papers every week. She is now taking steps to get her street back on the route so that she can get the paper again. But at the same time, Tandra wondered why the FMT is delivered to every house when not everyone wants to get it.
It’s a question that most people ask – especially those that recently moved here. Many express surprise that they get a free weekly paper here in Fort Mill. Tandra, like many others have expressed to me, mentioned the fact that papers that go unread are a waste of resources and money, and wondered if there was a way to organize a campaign to have the FMT offer an opt-in service of some kind so that only the people that want the paper get the paper.
I wrote her back this weekend with my thoughts on why that might not work (loss of significant ad revenue that helps them even be able to PRINT the paper being the chief one) but said that I would still post a poll here at ScoopMill to try and gauge how people feel.
In the sidebar on the right you’ll find two polls about the Fort Mill Times. Chime in with your thoughts by voting in the poll, and be sure to let others know about the poll so they can come vote as well. Voting will be open for ONE WEEK so there is plenty of time to spread the word and get people to come vote!
photo credit: Hamed Saber
Some time back when we first moved to the area we received not only the Fort Mill Times on a weekly basis but also the Lake Wylie Pilot. This went on without interuption for several years when all of a sudden I noticed that we were no longer receiving the FM Times. I waited a week or two thinking that maybe there was a new carrier and it was just a mix up and it would be worked out shortly (I mean we are talking about a free newspaper here). Anyway after the 3rd week, and still no paper I called the FM Times office. The lady who answered was very nice, and apologetic, and stated that they would get us back on schedule right away (as it turned out someone put a current issue of the FM Times in our mailbox that very evening). The lady on the other end of the phone went on to explain to me that there indeed was a new carrier, but she also asked me if I had a certain color sticker on my mailbox? Apparently these stickers indicate to the carriers who gets what newspaper (if any). Aha! I told her that there probably wasn’t any stickers our mailbox, as we had just recently purchased, and installed a new one (I’d seen those stickers on our mailbox for years but never thought to question who, or what, or why they were even there – little did I know the importance of those little round stickers). The mystery was now solved. The newspapers are delivered on a weekly basis, and the correct color coded sticker is attached to our mailbox once again.
That’s interesting, Toadya – we don’t have any stickers on our mailbox (which we replaced several months ago), but have had no interruption in service. I wonder if living in a subdivision or NOT living in a subdivision makes a difference too?
In Tega Cay, residents have to request the FM Times and will receive a sticker on their mailbox to denote that they would like the newspaper (like Toadya had).
In other parts of Fort Mill (outside of Tega Cay)it works in a somewhat opposite manner. The FM Times is given to every household UNLESS the resident requests not to receive it.
The distribution is supposed to work in an opt in/opt out manner. Any resident who receives it but doesn’t want the newspaper can call the circulation number to have delivery to their home stopped. Likewise, any resident who wants to newspaper but isn’t receiving it for whatever reason can also call the circulation number to request delivery. In the case of your reader above, whose street appears to be missed by the carrier entirely, a call to the circulation number will also get the ball rolling to fix the problem.
In the meantime, any person in the town limits who did not receive their FM Times can always come by the office and get a copy for free.
The circulation number is 909-4235. It is also listed in the paper each week. Hope that is helpful!
Thanks for posting that info, Jenny! I didn’t know that FMT offers an opt-out service – I don’t remember ever seeing that as an option. But handy to know!
Does anybody else get their copy of the Fort Mill Times delivered into the little handy newspaper box attached to the mailbox? I have one, but our FMT ends up on our driveway. Most times this doesn’t bother me, unless it’s raining and my paper ends up being squishy. Just wondering….
Thank you, Jane, for posting my frustration and emailing me back. I love that you have included a pole for the residents to voice their opinions as well. After trying since the beginning of the year without success, I am still awaiting delivery of The Fort Mill Times to my street in Fort Mill. The street beside me is getting delivery just fine, including the vacant homes and neighbors that do not want their papers. I have never had any type of sticker at my home for the delivery of that paper when I did normally receive it. I do, however, have colored stickers for my delivery of The Herald. The emails with my contact, Patricia, at The Fort Mill Times have promised delivery but still no paper. I was given the contact number 329-4090 to forward to those who want to opt out of service, and I will be passing that number along to my friends and neighbors. Hopefully they can report the vacant houses as well and help stop the waste. I would love to see something actually done about this problem and to once again receive the free paper that our street is entitled to receive. Thanks for trying to help!
Well, since this story has been published to your site, I have now received my first paper delivery as of today (Wednesday the 13th). Let’s just hope that the delivery continues on a regular basis to our street. I have a hard time believing that it was just a coincidence though. Afterall, it’s only taken 4 months to make it happen!
Glad to hear that, Tandra!
[...] the poll ended up being an interesting mix of opinion. If you recall, Tandra, a Fort Mill resident, stopped receiving her copy of the Fort Mill Times and only found out recently that the neighbors on the street behind her were still getting their [...]