We're heading into a week of big changes for the American News.
The biggest, as you know by now, is that Monday will be the first Monday there will be no home delivery of the newspaper. However, the full American News will be produced as an electronic edition with all the same local news, sports, puzzles, comics and more.
If you are a regular e-edition reader, nothing will change. But if it's a new feature, you can find a link to the e-edition at the top of the our homepage, aberdeennews.com. Just click where it says e-edition on the black menu bar.
You can also download our e-edition apps to your phone or tablet.
The e-edition is an exact replication of the daily newspaper. The digital format also has some additional features, such as the ability to clip and share articles with friends and family and adjust the text size.
Starting with Monday's e-edition, you'll find a publication that has expanded games and puzzles, the daily crossword, horoscopes, advice and a what-to-watch on TV feature all on one page. It should be a handy, convenient page you'll appreciate.
Some of the puzzles and columnists will change a bit, but none of those features are going away.
By doing a recent audit of content in the American News -- looking at what you read -- we now have a better feel for what we should be spending most of our time on and what just doesn't have as much value. We're using that information to make some changes for the better.
In the end, that means a trade of sorts. Daily calendars, TV listings and grids, routine briefs, daily opinion pages and some columnists are going away. But that will free up important time for us to work on unique journalism important to our community and region.
We're also reducing the number of opinion pages published each week. In the weekend edition, you'll still find your letters to the editor with a combination of columns, including local voices, Cal Thomas and Alan Guebert. Other local columnists will be scattered throughout the week.
Much of the national opinion content we've run in the past is readily available online, if you're interested in it.
While I know some folks still use TV grids in the weekend edition, they simply aren't as relevant as they once were. Nowadays, our TVs tell us what shows are on when, and the popularity of streaming services keeps growing. That brings me back to our what-to-watch TV feature that will be published daily.
The front of what's been our 605 page is also changing. That's generally the front of the B section in the weekend edition. Most recently, it has included The Prairie Doc rural health column, The Week in History and Time Lapse, a sort of photo-of-the-week feature. The Prairie Doc will move inside the paper and The Week in History will be replaced by a daily history listing. Going forward, the front of the B section will have a theme from week to week -- travel, movies, books, real estate, etc. Inside, we will continue to publish Christopher Elliott's Travel Troubleshooter column and Kovels Antiques and Collecting.
It's no secret that the newspaper industry is changing. And so is how people read the news. The number of American News readers who tap the e-edition or read stories online is ever-growing. That's the thrust behind many of the changes and specifically ending Monday home delivery. The change is admittedly difficult, but also necessary.
But there's an upside. If you get the print edition of the American News, you have full access to our e-edition and online content. That include subscriber-only stories, local news andsports, videos, obituaries, columnists ... all of it.
Plus, the daily e-edition has extra daily news and sports sections that cover the latest events, issues and games.
Lastly, American News subscribers also have access to more than 225 other Gannet e-editions, including papers in Sioux Falls; Watertown; St. Cloud, Minn.; Des Moines, Iowa; Phoenix; Knoxville, Tenn.; a handful of papers in Florida and many others.
Yes, it will be a week of changes. But there's lots to like. Don't forget to check out all of the benefits that come with your subscription. And thank you for supporting local journalism.
Scott Waltman is the editor of the American News and Public Opinion. A native of Aberdeen, he studied journalism at South Dakota State University.
