According to a sign posted to the door of the Lebanon Daily News, the Gannett-owned newspaper will no longer offer walk-in customer service at its 718 Poplar Street offices.
The image was posted to Facebook yesterday by former Lebanon Daily News reporter Steve Snyder.
The notice advises visitors that they can mail subscription payments to a location in Ohio or advertising payments to Dallas. (Shameless plug: Support LebTown and we’ll keep your ad dollars in market. Imagine that!)
Customer service for the Daily News will now be available only through the phone or via an email address, LebanonDailyNews@gannett.com. Phone service is available Monday through Friday 8:00AM to 7:00PM, Saturday 8:00AM to 11:00AM (online support only), or Sunday 8:00AM to 11:00AM.
While the reduction in services can be viewed as a sign of the times for the newspaper industry, this year’s violence against journalists may have been another reason to discontinue in-person service. Five employees of the Capital Gazette were murdered this summer by a reader angry about the paper’s coverage of a 2011 harassment incident. The incident prompted newsrooms across the country to reexamine their security practices.
No response was made to email inquires sent to Jim McClure, regional editor for Gannett, and Andrea Rich, editor of the Daily News asking about the motivation for the change and whether it is a permanent change. We will update this post if we hear more.
I like what you’re doing to cover local news. Don’t worry about courageously anonymous commenters this jagoff.
You’ll keep the money in market? Aren’t you based out of Philadelphia???
Yes I am, but that doesn’t mean I intend to profit from LebTown. Sponsorship dollars will be used to fund local journalism, period. Next time use your real name, coward!
The Leban.on Daily News is based out of York, if you haven’t noticed