2018-10-04

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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

Save a seat for night of laughs

Becoming a mother was no joke for comedian Kira Soltanovich. She tried to have a natural childbirth, but because she was carrying a hefty 10-pound baby, she buckled quickly. “I tried to do it without the drugs,” she said. “I was like, ‘I’m gonna be crunchy-granola . . . you know, this L.A. mom who’s just gonna feel the earth […]

Searching for signs of Lily Tomlin

If you’re searching for signs of intelligent life in the universe, look no further than Lily Tomlin, the enduring comic whose multiple onstage personalities (phone operator Ernestine, precocious 5-and-a-half-year-old Edith Ann) are the stuff of show business legend. Tomlin will bring more than a dozen of her timeless characters to life when she performs at 8 p.m. Fri., Oct. 12 […]

Classic, new musicals en route to T.O.

Tickets are on sale for the 2018-19 Broadway in Thousand Oaks series. The lineup features the best of Broadway, including the Rodgers and Hammerstein classics “The King and I” and “The Sound of Music;” rhythmic percussive sensation “Stomp;” direct from Broadway, “The Magic of Adam Trent;” Harvard’s blonde in pink storm in “Legally Blonde The Musical; and the hilarious Broadway […]

Harvest fest graces Ventura fairgrounds

Showcasing a colossal collection of handmade creations, the 46th annual Harvest Festival Original Art and Craft Show will run Fri. through Sun., Oct. 5 to 7 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The festival will […]

Pirates on stage

The Ventura County Gilbert Sullivan Repertoire Company will present Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance” from Oct. 5 through 21 at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts, 403 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks. The rollicking band of pirates swashbuckling their way on stage feature: Pirate King Richard (Clynell Jackson), apprentice Frederic (Jonathan Matthews), first mate Samuel (Anthony Moresi) and pirate […]

Green is the new black in ‘Shrek’

It’s not easy being green, but if you’ve got the grit and the guts—and surround yourself with the right kind of friends—you can make your own way in this big, bright beautiful world. That’s the empowering message in “Shrek the Musical,” which opens 5-Star Theatricals’ 2018-19 season in the Kavli Theatre at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand […]

Country artist to play in the big city

The Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza will present country artist Mark Wills at 7:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 12 in the Scherr Forum Theatre, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Wills is a multiplatinum-selling country music star with eight top 10 hits, including Something,” “Wish You Were Here” and “Don’t Laugh At Me,” all of which received nominations for Single, Song and […]

Magic and laughs with Justin Willman

Magician and comedian Justin Willman will play the Scherr Forum at 7:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 13 in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Willman, the host of “Cupcake Wars” on the Food Network for the past eight seasons, is also a magician and comedian known for his multiple appearances on “The Tonight Show,” “Ellen,” “Conan” […]

Candidate wants to be first African American board member

ELECTION 2018


Kiyomi Kowalski is the disrupter candidate in the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education election. She is the sole challenger to three incumbents: Lesli Stein, Angela Cutbill and Dallas Lawrence. Kowalski, 39, said she brings diversity to the Nov. 6 election. She said that because about a quarter of the student population is non-white, it makes sense to […]

High School Highlights

Agoura Chargers Sat., Oct. 6: Agoura’s Got Talent/G building/7 p.m. Wed., Oct. 10: PSAT/gym Calabasas Coyotes Fri., Oct. 5: Pushing Veronica performance/lower quad/12:12 p.m. Boys’ water polo preseason meeting/6 p.m. ComedySportz/7 p.m. Sat., Oct. 6: SAT/ACT Mon., Oct. 8: Staff developmentno school Tues., Oct. 9: U.S. Naval Academy visit/lecture hall/7:50 a.m. Wed., Oct. 10: PSAT Hispanic Heritage Month Fiesta/ lower […]