2013-12-12

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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

Student achieves honors



Rachel Goldberg , an Agoura High School graduate and sophomore at Colgate University in New York, was inducted into the Colgate chapter of Phi Eta Sigma, the national scholastic honorary society that recognizes the outstanding academic achievement of first-year students. Goldberg was among the 167 students who received the distinction for having earned a grade point average of at least […]

In-N-Out Burger approved for Westlake



The popular fast food chain In-N-Out Burger is coming to the Shoppes at Westlake Village shopping center on Russell Ranch Road.Following a two-hour discussion at a public hearing Wed. Nov. 11, the Westlake City council approved the drive-thru restaurant with a 4-to-1 vote. Newly elected Councilmember Brad Halpern cast the opposing vote.City planners had requested several changes to ensure that […]

Living organ donations



While most organs and tissues become available for transplant after the donor has died, some organs and tissues can be donated by living donors. On Oct. 29, Calabasas resident Beth Cone Kramer donated a kidney through the UCLA Kidney Exchange Program. When her father, Maurie Cone of Thousand Oaks, needed a kidney transplant, neither Cone Kramer nor her brother were […]

Sheriff handling own investigation into cyclist’s Mulholland Highway death

Deputy’s patrol car collided with bike rider, reason not known


The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Traffic Services Detail has begun the investigation into the death of a bicyclist who was struck and killed Dec. 8 by a sheriff’s patrol car heading east on Mulholland Highway in Calabasas. The investigators are an internal affairs unit whose job is to examine accidents involving deputies. The name of the Lost Hills Sheriff’s […]

Just in time for holidays



New members take seat on school board




The Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education welcomed two new trustees and bade an emotional farewell to longtime board members Gordon Whitehead and Dave Moorman, who have retired. Gordon served on the board for three terms (12 years) and Moorman was elected for two terms (8 years). Board member Jill Gaines took the helm as president. Gaines replaces […]

L.A. County jail abuse not the norm, Lost Hills sheriff says

Goal for local jail is rehabilitation


Fourteen former and current deputies, sergeants and lieutenants were arraigned in federal court Monday in connection with possible abuse at Men’s Central and Twin Towers jails. But the alleged abuse doesn’t reflect the mindset of all the deputies who work with inmates in the county’s jails. The sheriff’s department’s Education Based Incarceration Bureau has created a program that teaches inmates […]

Cyclist’s death renews controversial debate



In the 40-year history of The Acorn, no topic in our Letters to the Editor section has elicited more passion and greater response than the car versus the bicycle debate. Everyone rides one or the other. Everyone feels righteous about their share of the road. Sadly, the two modes of transportation aren’t always compatible. Last Sunday, tragedy resulted when a […]

Reader likes idea of cars, cyclists riding opposite each other



Yes, bicycles traveling against traffic would require a paradigm shift in thinking. Yes, it would require a change in state law so that neither driver is surprised. Yes, the closing speed is a negative. However, a collision at 20 or 80 mph would have about the same tragic result. While no solution is perfect, this one could potentially save lives. […]

Don’t restrict our cyclists



Regarding the letter titled “Sport cyclists flirt with danger,” by Bill Brock on Dec. 5: Your very first point on the subject, that no other sport uses the street for physical training, is totally inaccurate. Runners such as cross country competitors, including those from our local high school, use the streets for physical training. Athletics are not restricted to a […]