Sentinel Port Vale News to be a subscription / Baggers

[PV1973]

 

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere, if so please merge or delete. The Sentinel are starting a paid service to cover our news with Baggers returning to run it. Seems a bit rich given that stoke fans don’t have to pay for theirs. 
 

Port Vale news and coverage is changing ... and Baggers is back - Stoke-on-Trent Live

WWW.STOKESENTINEL.CO.UK

 

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by PV1973

[robf]

That's very weird. I could understand it as an added service and certainly anything with Baggers' expertise will be worth exploring.

But, surely the Sentinel need to sort out the regular coverage in its newspaper first otherwise it's basically saying to Vale fans - Stoke fans can get comprehensive free coverage but Vale fans can only get comprehensive coverage by paying.

[Brian Johnson]

I will not be paying for any service that Sentinel provides, why should we?

We get enough free content from places like OVF, all Port Vale social media channels and Radio Stoke.

Also, is Baggers still going to be reporting on Wolves ?

[NellyTheValiant]

Annoying that's it's a chargable subscription, a tenner for the 1st year I can do and it'd be more than that for the paper paper but £40 annually thereafter is mind boggling!

[robf]

It's a weird contradiction. In the Q&A section they say that as the main newspaper coverage relies on ads for revenue and it's simply that Vale's smaller fanbase makes news reporting on them less profitable on the main website - "A smaller club is no less loyally supported by its fans, but there’s no getting around the fact that there are fewer of them, meaning they read fewer stories, which in turn means that those pages generate less revenue to pay for the journalism those fans want to read."

In which case, why aren't the Sentinel launching a similar paid service for Stoke? If newspapers are struggling for revenue then a newsletter for Stoke's larger fanbase would generate even more money than the ad-supported free articles. 

It's that sort of contradiction that pokes holes in their reasoning I feel. 

I'm all for Baggers back on Vale duty and I think it will be fascinating to see how this develops but I really do think this sort of thing should be a premium add-on not the local newspaper's de facto way of covering the club. 

If I'm allowed to do so, a party political broadcast by OVF follows... I will continue to provide free coverage. I am a one-man show, I am out of the area and I therefore rely on club statements and press conferences, so I will never match the in-depth coverage of professional, locally-based journos. But I will try and give you the best FREE coverage, from a fan's perspective, that I can. I also welcome your support and suggestions so if you want to - send me an interesting story you've seen / point out an error / contribute in some way either in words or photos / then do message me. I've seen several kind comments about OVF's coverage this season, especially in light of the reduced Sentinel news, so thanks to all those who've supported this site and I hope the features are informative and entertaining!

[Warren]

I think the Sentinel is superfluous. 

[Brian Johnson]

4 minutes ago, Warren said:

 superfluous. 

the word for today is superfluous

[robf]

23 minutes ago, Brian Johnson said:

the word for today is superfluous

In which case, why did we need to know it?

Sorry, bad pun... 

[PV1973]

1 hour ago, Brian Johnson said:

I will not be paying for any service that Sentinel provides, why should we?

We get enough free content from places like OVF, all Port Vale social media channels and Radio Stoke.

Also, is Baggers still going to be reporting on Wolves ?

It says that baggers has quit the wolves job after 3 months and returned to do this. It’s a big decision, because starting a paid service could fail dramatically.

[Doha]

"fans of all football clubs have come to expect a level of service online that, for one reason or another, we have been unable to provide"

hahaha.

[greengrass]

Keep up the good work Rob, you do a brilliant job.

[CAVALIER]

I’ve subscribed. One year only for £10. Unsubscribed from SOT Live. 

[smithie]

1 hour ago, robf said:

It's a weird contradiction. In the Q&A section they say that as the main newspaper coverage relies on ads for revenue and it's simply that Vale's smaller fanbase makes news reporting on them less profitable on the main website - "A smaller club is no less loyally supported by its fans, but there’s no getting around the fact that there are fewer of them, meaning they read fewer stories, which in turn means that those pages generate less revenue to pay for the journalism those fans want to read."

In which case, why aren't the Sentinel launching a similar paid service for Stoke? If newspapers are struggling for revenue then a newsletter for Stoke's larger fanbase would generate even more money than the ad-supported free articles. 

It's that sort of contradiction that pokes holes in their reasoning I feel. 

I'm all for Baggers back on Vale duty and I think it will be fascinating to see how this develops but I really do think this sort of thing should be a premium add-on not the local newspaper's de facto way of covering the club. 

If I'm allowed to do so, a party political broadcast by OVF follows... I will continue to provide free coverage. I am a one-man show, I am out of the area and I therefore rely on club statements and press conferences, so I will never match the in-depth coverage of professional, locally-based journos. But I will try and give you the best FREE coverage, from a fan's perspective, that I can. I also welcome your support and suggestions so if you want to - send me an interesting story you've seen / point out an error / contribute in some way either in words or photos / then do message me. I've seen several kind comments about OVF's coverage this season, especially in light of the reduced Sentinel news, so thanks to all those who've supported this site and I hope the features are informative and entertaining. 

This is a superb website and it's my first port of call for Vale stuff, then the official club site for tickets etc. The Sentinel is largely irrelevant for Vale and other news. 

[Guitar Ray]

Can’t see this generating much income.  Not many will pay a tenner, let alone more, for content that’ll either be available elsewhere or quickly find it’s way out onto social media, this forum etc.  Baggers will have to pretty much find a continuous stream of exclusives to spark any big uptake of subscriptions.  Almost inevitably I think ads will have to creep in down the line.

[Phil500]

Good effort by the Sentinel, but won’t work. £10 for the season.!. That is two pints🤪