2020-12-03

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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

Fiction contest brings ‘fresh air’

Thank you for the breath of fresh air. Your Fiction in a Nutshell contest was just the change of pace we need. Maybe just a little bit of normal is what we need now. The first-place winners are outstanding. But I loved the story about the paper “Nightmare” by Lois Kiely. I can so relate to the amount of free […]

Learning to count blessings

Gratefulness is something we express whenever we show that we are thankful for something. One form of gratefulness is gratuity. However, the word “gratuity” refers to the tip you leave your server at the end of a restaurant meal. Sometimes, we might use the word gratuity as a form of gratitude. Gratitude is also another word that applies to thankfulness. […]

Food assistance for others

As Americans, we are finding that we need to rely on ourselves more as the wealthy corporations and their owners have rigged the economy in their favor. They steal the wealth we have all created. During the pandemic, many socialist-minded organizations formed mutual-aid working groups to help fill in the holes of the safety net that our federal government failed […]

Keep your head up

During the French Revolution, 40,000 people lost their heads to the guillotine. In contrast, more than a quarter of a million Americans have died from COVID-19. The virus is spreading faster than ever and we are just beginning another wave. There appears to be a great many folks who think sending our kids to school in bulletproof vests and body […]

Santa says thank you

As a result of the generosity of St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church, the Zeolla family and the management and staff from Costco in Westlake Village, 375 turkeys were donated to food banks in Los Angeles and Ventura counties as well to the families and staff at St. Michael’s School in Los Angeles (St. Maximilian Kolbe’s sister parish). Much thanks. George […]

Looking a lot like Christmas

Hoping dry weather doesn’t portend fire



After a dry fall season, experts predict the lack of rain will put the Conejo Valley and surrounding areas at high risk for fires this winter. “The drought conditions are starting to get worse through most of the west, so at this time of the year when we don’t have precipitation, the fire threat remains very high,” Eric Boldt, meteorologist […]

Local water manager recognized for leadership

The Southern California Water Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public education partnership that keeps residents informed about water resources, has selected local water manager David Pedersen as one of the winners of the organization’s inaugural Kathy Cole Award. Pedersen is general manager of the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, the water and sewer service provider to more than 75,000 residents in […]

Reports offer details into deadly crash



A 20-year-old college student who was behind the wheel of a Tesla Model 3 that crashed on Westlake Boulevard in August, killing himself and his passenger, was driving in excess of 100 mph and had both alcohol and marijuana in his system, according to the findings of an investigation into the wreck. Ezekial “Zeek” Bishop of Simi Valley and Ryan […]

Commissions available

The City of Calabasas announced it has openings to fill on the following city commissions. The unpaid commissioners act in an advisory capacity to the City Council. Two open appointments with the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center, plus two alternate members; One appointment with the Art in Public Places Committee, Five with the Communications and Technology Commission; Five with the Environmental […]