By VERNON ROBISON
It has been more than two months since The Progress made the major shift in our distribution model for Moapa Valley. The week of January 16 was the last time that the paper was distributed by mail to every post office box in Moapa, Logandale and Overton.
It seems the transition period has begun to even out now. Folks in those communities seem to have grown accustomed to picking up their papers at one of the 46 distribution sites where we currently distribute in the Moapa Valley communities. Those include new boxes outside each of the local post offices.
I am still fielding a fair number of questions from our readership about the possibility of the return to a mail distribution option – not just for Moapa Valley but for those all of our readers who want it. So I thought that I would report back here about that ongoing effort, and answer some of the frequently asked questions publicly in this column.
Firstly we have seen a large number of written requests submitted from our readers in both valleys to receive the newspaper in the mail. Many have clipped out the forms that we have printed in each weekly edition, filled them out and returned them to us. The first few weeks, back in January and early February, these requests came flooding in. Over the past few weeks or so, the numbers have slowed significantly. I have been pleased to see a good mix of requests from readers in both the Moapa Valley and the Virgin Valley.
Some folks in Virgin Valley have questioned whether they would be eligible to receive the paper in the mail. The answer to that is, once again, “Absolutely!” We welcome requests from both valleys and even beyond.
But to avoid false expectations I should remind our readers that filling out the form doesn’t necessarily guarantee that you’ll be seeing the paper in your mailbox right away…or ever, for that matter. We still have a ways to go before we can start thinking about that again.
Remember, in order to return to the mail, we need to qualify for a periodical postage permit through the USPS. In order to do that, we have to show signed requests for such service from roughly half of our total distribution. That requires roughly 3,000 requests for mail delivery. Though we have done well, we are still far short of that number.
To be certain, this is not a big surprise. We knew from the outset that this goal would be a tall order to reach. But we are going through the process in order to leave the option open. We will continue to do so for a while longer.
I would certainly thank all those who have already sent in their request forms. We do have quite a large pile of them in our office. We truly appreciate all the support of the newspaper we have seen over the last couple of months!
Some folks have questioned whether we really do WANT to return The Progress to mail distribution. They have said, “After going through all of the difficult process of pulling out of the mail, why would you ever go back?” That is a fair question.
Obviously, we can’t afford to go back to the way we were doing before: sending it to every postal household in just a portion of our distribution area. That has proven to be both unsustainable and wasteful. And we certainly couldn’t extend that service to our full distribution territory – which also makes it a bit unfair.
But what we have been looking at is the possibility of re-entering the mail through obtaining a periodicals mail permit. This would make the mailin more affordable and more focused. It would also extend a more consistent distribution model over our entire service territory. If we are to return to the mail, this is the only way that makes sense.
From a business standpoint, there are also some valuable benefits for a newspaper in Nevada to have a periodical postage permit. Such a permit would allow us to serve our communities in ways we are not eligible to do now. It would also open sources of revenue that are currently closed to us.
So the simple answer to the question is: yes. We would like to return to the mail under those circumstances. It would simplify and standardize distribution for our customers, it would do so in an affordable way for us, and it would provide new benefits and revenues to the business.
But a more complex, and perhaps more accurate, answer to the question is: It depends. Such a venture all rests upon the preferences of our readers.
If you are happy with the way things are now, picking up the weekly Progress while dropping by your favorite spots in town, then we are happy to continue that way. We can continue the current model in perpetuity, just the way it is now without changing a thing.
But if there are enough Moapa Valley folks who really miss getting the paper in the mail; and enough Virgin Valley folks who have always wanted it that way – preferably a strong mix of those two – then we are standing at the ready, happy to oblige. If you are one of those folks who haven’t acted yet, now is a good time. Just clip out this week’s form, which is found on this page fill it out and send it in as instructed on the form.
Of course, I can’t guarantee that we will ever reach the lofty goal. But if we ever do, it will be entirely up to you, our readership.
Either way, we will continue printing the form for a while longer. We leave the final answer to the question “Mail or no mail?” up to you.
Thank you all for reading The Progress.
