We all know its coverage of local news is a shadow of what it once was. Aside from the cities, its reporters have largely stopped going to meetings. Thanks to Keith Groller, the paper still makes a valiant effort to cover high school sports, but he's only one person. Knowing these shortcomings, I was still willing to subscribe. Half an apple is still better than no apple.
I've ended my subscription because, time and again, the newspaper denies me access to my digital subscription. When I call to complain, I am told to clear my cache. It still fails. After I give up, it starts working again when I try a few days later. It is only temporary.
The website is painfully slow and full of pop-ups as well.
I have online subscriptions to several publications. Only The Morning Call does this. I am unwilling to spend my limited resources on a company that seems uninterested in saving itself.
Have any of you had these issues?
48 comments:
I have not experienced any of the issues you note. I use Chrome as my browser. What do you use as maybe that's the issue?
The MC has been a left-wing rag for some time. I only subscribe for local news and sports. Good news is that they are dropping the Washington Post for the New York Times. A tiny move to a less biased news source. Most stories will still be anti-Trump. Still fake news.
... a less biased news source...you're joking, right?
My issue is with the obituaries. Nothing it seems is sacred . When loading it's full of pop-ups , ads for all types of unrelated goods and services. People are in there to read about a loved one or a friend and they have the nerve to try make money . If you have had the unfortunate circumstance of having to post an obit, you know they charge an outlandish fee. That fee should buy some respect.
Huntress, I use chrome and have tried other browsers. It happens on my PC, iphone and ipad.
1:18, Your criticism is very valid.
Anon 12:12, left wing right wing, points on an ideological map. If you are pinning all your "facts" on an authoritarian leader, you have already been duped.
I have the same issue of being treated as a non-subscriber on the MC website. After a certain number of views, I am locked-out. Also have called them with no resolution of the problem. This, after having been a full, daily paper edition for more than 50 years. Seems I can visit the Obituaries as often as I like. That area must be managed by a different company altogether.
I have learned to ignore the Morning Call completely, but my spouse still prefers a daily hard copy rather than an internet version. Don’t know how much longer we’ll continue to pay “full freight.”
No question, the Morning Call is a really awful publication, and skews it’s message too far LEFT. If I quickly pass over the Left-leaning articles my whole experience with the Morning Call can last less than 15 minutes. Really nothing much of value to be found at the MC.
No loss to me if the place shuts down completely. Pretty much junk in every way. Yes, the propaganda stuff lifted from New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Washington Post revolts me.
Everyone knows the only REAL News is from Fox unless they report negatively on the greatest President ever, then they are disappointing. Hannity, Carlson, Pirro are all truth tellers who don't have to put up with that left-wing journalist Shepard any longer. He was such a liar, trying to confuse me with facts. My only disappointment with Fox is they seem to be backing off on Obama and Hillary. What happened to the 24 hour coverage of what they did? Its down to only 12. Come on Ukraine, start the Biden investigation and turn over that server!
Anyone still looking for traditional journalism, intelligent viewpoints and discussions that don’t insult the readers/viewers, check-out Epoch Times. Yes, their original focus years ago was simply to counter Communism, but Epoch Times has broadened it’s mission and can now be a valued stop along your journey to find truth. Today’s edition headlines the attacks against Jews, by the way. Much more of quality there covering many other topics.
I’m afraid, most American media (including FOX) has been corrupted. Although, FOX Business Channel still has balance and value.
I have the same problems with my online subscription that you identify. Like you, I will be cancelling my subscription (which just charged my account the ridiculous $19.96 monthly fee) after the high school basketball season is over. If it were not for Keith Groller's coverage I would have cancelled a long time ago.
The pop-ups are almost as annoying as MC's failure to uncover the pay-to-play scandal that two local bloggers had detailed for years before the FBI raid.
I use multiple emails addys and grab the free or deeply discounted introductory subscription. Then, cancel before it gets expensive and fire up another subscription; rinse and repeat.
I think you're upset because their coverage of the voting machine dumpster fire ran counter to the PR job you've been running for McClure and that hilariously bad purchase and execution. May have been the final straw. But it was a straw.
I refused to subscribe or advertise in the morning call over 20 years ago, long before Trump. I refuse to accept the paper even when offered free. Not only because of there biased news, like their hit job on Marty Nothstein, but an incident were they cancelled my advertisement that I ran daily for 20 years in their classified section under wanted to buy. I was told I could run a display add, but not a classified. I found out that it was because it competed with one of their display advertisers. Best thing would be it will fold up and be replaced by an objective paper. It will likely fold up, but sadly will not likely be replaced. Even online news has yet to find a plan that will be profitable.
It is just an example of a changing world, you will see many print publications folding in the near future.
I quit subscribing due to political bias long ago. I still buy the Sunday paper for $1 at the Dollar Store and I'm amazed by how liberal the paper still is. There are articles every Sunday meant to persuade the reader that everyone is poor, disadvantaged, struggling, worried about making ends meet. I don't want to dismiss the daily concerns of legitimately poor people, but one would never know that the this region is prospering and the nation's economy is booming. Anyone willing to hustle can get ahead right now and its driving the liberals nuts.
It's funny that their so-called journalists who refuse to learn to code, just unionized. It's like Titanic passengers demanding better dinner service while the water is gushing in. Their part in the Allentown pay-to-play conspiracy was an unforgivable corporate-journalism sin. It's an organization that is already dead; just too stupid to fall over. Meanwhile, a 13-week coding boot camp will deliver an $80K+ starting salary! Strong writing skills encouraged.
Have had the same recurring disappearance of the daily “Your eNewspaper has arrived” e-mail. Also had the same responses from so-called Customer Service telling me to clear the browser cache, check the Spam folder, etc., etc. Here’s the trick - keep the last e-mail from the Morning Call announcing arrival of your eNewspaper that worked properly No matter how many days later it may be when you click on it, the current edition of the digital paper pops up. Much easier than following their silly computer guidance or having to log onto the MC website everyday with your password. Interestingly, their other e-mails such as the “most read story,” “last chance to buy ——-,” etc. never seem to fail ! And when they e-mail you to tell you your (fill in the blank) monthly/yearly/new subscriber promotional fee for the digital edition is expiring and your price will double, just call and tell them you are going to end the subscription. The Customer Service rep on the other end of the phone pretends to be checking other possibilities for you and then comes back on to say that by some miracle they can keep you at your current rate for the time being. 🙂
I gave up on the Morning Call within the last couple of years. What ended it for me was: the increasingly slow, bogged-down and scroll-lagging website (you click on a story, but it's not done loading all the site's crap, so a different story above or below it loads); the nonstop positive coverage of Pawlowski, portraying him as a savior even when it was obvious he was circling the drain; the constant J. B. Reilly advertising/cheerleading masked as news; and the end of real estate transfer information being published on the website. The anti-Trump bias is there, but that is not unique to the Morning Call and is the same with pretty much every other traditional newspaper-type publication.
Oh, and when they thought they got clever and decided to block people from reading in "In Private" or "Incognito" browser mode to avoid their paywall cookies, then I decided they could really go fuck themselves.
I'll add to my 8:23 comment that WFMZ has done a decent job of picking up on some of the major municipal-level stories that the Morning Call stopped bothering with, and their website loads quickly while being easy to navigate. With WFMZ picking up some of that slack, there is really no loss to the local area if the Morning Call finally dies, since it is a small useless fraction of its former self at this point. WFMZ is also publishing obituaries as well.
For years Morning Call subscribers have told the management it needs to provide useful information that is unique to living HERE. There’s a little bit of that, but not nearly enough. Too late. The paper sold out to a more impersonal, corporate and national-focused rehash of what we can find elsewhere all day long.
Now, even the meager local stuff is biased and slanted. So much so, it’s easy for half the readership to say “Get this garbage out of here, it insults me.”
The Morning Call’s death, when it comes, will be considered a suicide.
Bernie, I also use an ad blocker. For those who don't know, the limited # of articles you can view before being locked out is called a paywall and is common for some online versions of news. My only problem with the online version of the MC is its price. I pay the same amount for the New York Times online and get so much more for the money.
I'm not going to be one of those that says "Well, ***I*** don't have a problem," but I don't bother with the email.
If I start typing "enewspaper" (no quotes) into my browser, it auto-fills to a series of options. On my old Kindle Fire, it typically fills with a long complicated address that takes me to that day's edition. On my PC desktop computer (Firefox), one of the options is simply "enewspaper.mcall.com" which also works for me. If for some reason, you get an older edition, as long as it signed you in, you can go to the archives for today's edition.
YMMV
Having said that, yes the MC's "customer service" and mode of operation sucks. Don't even get me started on home delivery.
The moronic gagickle and its advertizmentalists has been dead for years, its just waiting to sell its death as a postive progression as a march into the future? Anyone who still lives in the city knows only very little of the crime gets reported.
How long has "BACKPAGE" is gone...." article on this site. Why do they have the same articles spread out at three different locations for days on en? (TO LOOK FULL) Liberal, Left paper. Biased for sure. I read for free. Used to enjoy.
Totally accurate take Bernie....I have given up and just read the actual paper. Less convenient of course.
"The MC has been a left-wing rag for some time. I only subscribe for local news and sports."
I'm a big boy and can ferret out whatever I consider biased. What bothers me is that The Morning Call has violated its agreement with me, repeatedly. I am paying them and they deny me access. When I do have it, I must put up with incessant pop-ups and a slow page. The owners have shown us what they think of the employees, who are treated like shit. Now they are screwing their own customers. I believe they are probably in violation of several consumer protection laws.
"Anyone still looking for traditional journalism, intelligent viewpoints and discussions that don’t insult the readers/viewers, check-out Epoch Times."
You slam American-made media. Like Trump, you want that foreign influence. But guess what? The Epoch Times is American, too.. Sure it's associated with Falun Gong but is American and very pro-Trump. Does the Epoch Times cover local meetings or sports? Does it ever actually break news? I am leery that its commitment is not to the truth but something else. It has promoted some bizarre views that I decline to repeat here. At his point, that "news" source has zero credibility with me.
Take a look at its mist recent lead story. It is claiming that we have fled from the US embassy in Iraq. This is untrue, according to the AP. We are holding. In a story this important, it is important to get it right. The Epoch Times has failed.
MC billed me twice in Dec for e-newspaper. In Nov price went from $ 19.xx to $ 27.xx. MC told me bill was for 28 days. Math on last payment does not hold this explaination to be true. MC also told me they sent out notice with billing. All I receive is notice on my credit card that payment is made. I asked MC to resend notice. Nothing to date. Early billing is to increase bottom line before year end. Seriously thinking of cancelling. MC has been going left for quite a while. Not much news. Maybe Lehigh Valley Democratic Politicians should list MC on their quarterly contributions as inkind.
lets talk about their automatic billing on a pre paid subscription that they just automatically continue and then bill for later without notice
Take the introductory offer and set a calendar reminder to cancel before it hurts. Then, do it all over again, with another email address. Fight the man. Fight the power. The revolution will be live streamed, anyway. They're eventually going away. Sears is bankrupt, Walmart is closing stores. Time and market economics keep marching on.
Future prices may be higher. We reserve the right to increase rates at any time. You will be notified in advance of any change in rates. From MC policy statement. Do not remember receiving any rate increase notice
Let’s put it this way, Bernie. The Epoch Times original report states our Ambassador and other personnel were evacuated. I believe that. There is already an update to this unfolding story, and we should expect more updates. The Epoch Times was suggested as a well-written source of Information. It is clearly an example of better journalism than the Morning Call offers. Of course, there’s no information about Lehigh Valley sports on their pages! Their web podcasts are in-depth and outstanding, too.
No need for you to be defensive and argumentative. Don’t go there for additional information, then. Your choice.
Just noticed you took your criticism of Epoch Times directly from Wikipedia, Bernie. Really? Wikipedia? Good grief.
I have no problems reading the replica edition of the paper on my iPad. The whole holding company is having problems. It could be worse: Media News Group could buy the group and merge their newest property, the Reading Eagle, with the MC. I can’t imagine a worse fate for the MC.
Nothing is as it was. I’ll probably be gone in 25 years and want to hold on to vestiges of civilization, as I remember it, until then. The MC still has $99/year of value to me.
"Just noticed you took your criticism of Epoch Times directly from Wikipedia, Bernie. Really? Wikipedia? Good grief."
I find Wikipedia quite useful but have read criticisms from numerous other sources. I did not link to them bc they are competitors. Wiki is not.
My own point about the embassy attack is all me. The Epoch Times inaccurately reported that we fled. This is irresponsible reporting.
I find that nearly all the stories are regurgitated new releases. There is both a Trumpian bias and very little local reporting, even in the NY edition.
It is owned by Chinese Americans but funded by Falun Gong.
I am very leery of this "news" source.
Until recently I was impressed with the Channel 69 website and it's coverage of local government. Then one day I was catching up on the minutes published on a local township website covering a recent board of supervisors meeting. Channel 69 also had an account of this meeting and I then realized that channel 69 had not attended the meeting and instead and copied parts of the meeting minutes right into their story almost word for word. AS for the Morning Call, the pop ups are getting really annoying. A couple of years ago I called the Morning Call subscription service. It sounded as though I got a talking Fish head on the other side of the Pacific .Not long after that my credit card got hacked and I always suspected that it had something to do with my Morning Call subscription.
Someone should start a blog or paper with just local high school sports, it would put the mc and all the others out of business, it seems that is what most people are interested in.
Who the hades still reads the Mourning Call? This liberal rag can die! Die and rot in hell!!
The morning call is a left wing rag the so called writers are biased--I will never buy athat rag it is as bad as 69 news.
January 1, 2020 at 9:25 AM Anonymous said...
The morning call is a left wing rag the so called writers are biased--I will never buy athat rag it is as bad as 69 news.
How is 69 news as bad as Morning Call when it comes to "left wing" reporting. Ever catch Dick Dean's 10:25 PM opinion pieces on WFMZ? Are you kidding me, he's far from left wing. He's also part owner.
I'd be real interested where you get your local news if not these two. As for me I find their Facebook comments further enhance my information. Neither would exist if they weren't in business. Yes there are some local groups on Facebook but often times they rely on these two linking to them. If there were no more MC or WFMZ it would amount to almost a entire news blackout.
As I said before, anyone with a small degree of intelligence can detect and discount bias, to the extent it exists. This has nothing to do with my decision. I canceled because the website has repeatedly denied me access, the help desk is useless, the webpage is slow and it is fill of pop-ups. If I want to see pop-ups nonstop, I can always visit a porn site. I do not have this issue at WaPO or NYT. I will buy the hard copy once or twice per week so I can follow high school sports and some local news, until the paper stops covering what should be a priority in a community paper. Then I will stop buying completely. The corporate masters at MCall think we are all chumps. They are screwing both their employees and the public. Its editor is also completely out of touch.
The problem with the Morning Call is practically nothing is done in-house anymore. Printing is done in NJ. Subscriber services are subcontracted out to hell knows where paying anyone willing to drive around tossing it out their car window. The way I understand reporters have to fill in restrictive templates designed daily in Baltimore (if I recall correctly). Obits are done by 'Legacy.com'. The website is most certainly contracted out as well. The web ads are linked from elsewhere. The MC has too many hands feeding off it's name having their own agendas. Subcontracting everything out (losing control) is a recipe for disaster. Time to think outside the box.
Perhaps it's time to diversify into TV and radio like many once did. Perhaps contract/combine with some of them to lessen their costs. For instance 6abc does Phila17's newscasts.. Why not MC and WFMZ meeting some sort of agreement? Why not consider SECTV or RCN cable in some sort of partnership.
Bernie O'Hare said...the webpage is slow and it is fill of pop-ups.
A few weeks I bitched on this very thing. I'm almost entirely reliant on RSS feeds. When I click on sites they refuse to let me in with 'AdBlock' turned on. I turn it off and all hell breaks loose. Several sites overload my Chrome browser and it shuts down. The distractions drive me nuts with popups and auto running videos. Whoever these IT people are their nuts. Do they ever look at the web pages they created?
They ruined AM radio with talk & ads. Then FM. TV ads, banners and crawls have become annoying as they. Now it seems the internet is headed in the same direction.
oops... They're nuts
I had the print subscription for 20+ years and cancelled this year. They just kept charging me more for less news and got rid of Paul Carpenter & Bill White columns. I'll still pick up a copy or two during the week but like the WSJ better.
I feel sad that newsprint has gone downhill due to the young folks aren't interested in the paper anymore and are too busy on facebook, twitter, tiktoc or snapchat...
cheers...
ALMIGHTY GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU READ CAREFULLY.
Herbal medicine is 100% guarantee for any kind of disease with no side effect e:g
HERPES TYPE 1 / HERPES TYPE 2
HEPATITIS A,B,C
CANCER,(COPD)
HIV-AIDS
DIABETES
PENIS ENLARGEMENT
Just write to Dr Aziba below
Contact him on his Email handle : priestazibasolutioncenter@gmail.com .and also on whatsapp: +2348100368288
To get a herbal cure to that Diseases or virus disturbing your health.
God bless you .
ALMIGHTY GOD BLESS YOU AS YOU READ CAREFULLY.
Herbal medicine is 100% guarantee for any kind of disease with no side effect e:g
HERPES TYPE 1 / HERPES TYPE 2
HEPATITIS A,B,C
CANCER,(COPD)
HIV-AIDS
DIABETES
PENIS ENLARGEMENT
Just write to Dr Aziba below
Contact him on his Email handle : priestazibasolutioncenter@gmail.com .and also on whatsapp: +2348100368288
To get a herbal cure to that Diseases or virus disturbing your health.
God bless you .
Well spoken
I agree close down. They never print the truth
Post a Comment