2008-09-25

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Acorn online content now offered free

'Paywall' removed

The new millennium has been a transformative time for newspaper publishing.

Changing reader habits and the advent of new technology have placed big demands on companies in the print news business.

The Acorn and its parent company, Times Media Group, understand that their biggest responsibility is not only the delivery of credible, relevant information in a timely fashion, but making sure residents have easy access to the publication when stories become available.

That’s why we’re super excited about the news being shared today.

Following a five-year stretch in which Acorn readers were given the option of purchasing online subscriptions to the paper, that so-called “paywall” is coming down.

“Mr. Publisher, tear down this wall,” the late President Ronald Reagan might have once said.

And so we did.

Starting immediately, all online content from our five Acorn publications will be available at no charge to the reader, meaning a paid subscription is no longer required to click and read articles. The weekly Acorn has always been delivered to your driveway at no cost—that more than 40-year tradition will continue—and from now on The Acorn on the internet will be free as well.

Why the change?

The Acorn is your community newspaper, and we want to make sure it stays that way. We believe it’s important that residents feel a connection to the stories we write and also learn about the businesses that advertise in their community. The absence of a paywall is the best way to ensure this free-flow of information remains.

We also invite readers to sign up for the new, easy-to-read Acorn newspaper e-edition delivered weekly to your e-mail. Viewed on mobile, desktop or laptop, the pages are super easy to navigate and, free, just like the print paper.

Local journalism is first gear in the engine that drives America’s free press, and a free press it shall be.

Archives

American Girl Day coming to The Lakes



American Girl Day will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sat., Sept. 27 at The Lakes in Thousand Oaks. The family friendly event, co-hosted by Pardee Homes and American Girl, will feature the Kit’s Home on Abbott Place playhouse, part of the Project Playhouse HomeAid fundraiser. Madison Davenport, who played Ruthie in “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl,” will make […]

Boy among top young U.S. chess players



Dennis Neymit, 14, a ninthgrader at Agoura High School, has been playing competitive chess for the last three years. Despite playing relatively late, as many children he competes against have been playing since they were 5 and 6 years old, Dennis is in the top 100 youths in the country by chess rating for his age and is in the […]

Oak Park family appeals for support

VisionWalk raises awareness for eye disease

The Wolinksy family of Oak Park hopes the community will once again support them when they walk in the second annual VisionWalk at 9 a.m. Sun., Oct. 26 at the UCLA campus. Last year, Marsha and Fred, along with their children Matthew and Jessie, walked the 5K course with friends and family, raising money to help find a cure for […]

Student celebrates Chinese Moon Festival



Three families from Viewpoint School in Westlake Village hosted a party to celebrate the Chinese Moon Festival and welcome Sara Qianrong Sun, an exchange student from China. Observed when the moon is closest to the earth, the Moon Festival is one of the most important holidays in the Chinese calendar. It is a time when families gather together, watch the […]

Agoura Hills’ new town center builds momentum

Neighborhood Focus

The Agoura Hills Planning Commission last week adopted the Agoura Village Specific Plan and also approved an updated environmental impact report for the commercial and residential development on Agoura Road. Senior Planner Allison Cook said the Agoura Village plan is a document that provides a framework for developers who want to build in the 135-acre zone south of the 101 […]

Women’s book study program slated



Church in the Canyon will sponsor a study for women on the book “The Organic God” by Margaret Feinberg from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Fridays beginning Oct. 3 at the church, 4235 Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas. The community is invited. In the book and DVD study, Feinberg said, “In our everchanging world, simplicity is a craving. What if we […]

Youth group recognized



At their dances, retreats and weekly lounge nights, the members of Temple Aliyah’s youth group appear to be happy teens simply having a good time. But there’s a lot more going on among the young people who make up the United Synagogue Youth chapter at the Woodland Hills congregation. The group was recently recognized by its umbrella organization for the […]

Driver pleads not guilty in death of woman jogger



Nicholas LaGrotta, 23, pleaded not guilty to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury, and driving with 0.08 percent blood alcohol level and causing injury in connection with the death of a woman jogger last month in Thousand Oaks. During his Ventura County Superior Court arraignment, LaGrotta also denied two enhancement charges that would add three years […]

Sheriff’s Blotter



Agoura Hills Vandals shattered two windows worth $750 at a school in the 29000 block of Laro Drive between Sept 8 and Sept. 9. A burglar stole a $300 satellite receiver and caused $250 in damages to a vehicle parked in the 29200 block of Fountainwood Street Sept 8. Someone in the 5000 block of Chesebro Road reported Sept 7 […]

A new home for lost puppy

Critter Tail

The emaciated puppy sat shivering and whimpering on the sidewalk of a busy a section of town. Traffic roared past, brakes screeched and horns blared. My daughter, Denise, a fourth-grade teacher, was driving to work and saw the helpless animal. She knew that if she didn’t immediately carry the puppy into her car, it would certainly be killed in traffic. […]