Dear Tulsa World:

For months you've been my primary source of news. Every morning when I wake up, I login to your website to check out what's happening in my local world. If its a particularly interesting day, I'll swing by a QuickTrip on the way to work and pickup a physical copy of your paper. At lunch break, I check back in to see what else has gone on. I'll even log on one more time before bed at night, just to make sure I didn't miss anything. On Sunday morning, I'll often head into town to grab a sunday paper while running errands.

The convenience of having local news at my fingertips can't be measured. I depend on Tulsa World for restaurant reviews, upcoming events, local news, weather, and more. It has truly become a daily thing for me. When I got my iPhone 4, the Tulsa World app was the first thing I installed. Being able to call up what I was looking for at a moment's notice was invaluable, and I was impressed that when so many other news outlets refused to spend the time and money on an app, Tulsa World would.

Then, it started. A quiet little notice on my iPhone app that stated that I would soon have to pay to see the news on my app. I was pretty frustrated. I was a loyal reader who depended on news from Tulsa World and I felt fairly violated. It's not like the app has the full versions of all stories - I would still need to go online or purchase a paper to view everything, so what was I really paying for? I'm too busy to read the entire paper every day, or I would subscribe to it. The online and app versions were just enough for me to stay connected to Tulsa, and I would reward you by purchasing a paper every now and then.

Today I logged on to Tulsa World to new popup. Apparently I've viewed too many articles and now will have to pay to see my news. Well, that my friends, is NOT going to happen. I willingly purchased a paper when larger articles appealed to me. I frequented your site and clicked on your ads as a customer, which directly ads to your revenue. But forcing me to pay for news that I can get from no less than 20 other outlets is completely outrageous. Not only are there several other local news outlets who happen to have fancier sites, better running apps and more coverage, but I can go to any of several national news sites and narrow my search to Tulsa. Congratulations, Tulsa World, you've now become irrelevant. 

All of these other news sites that I've mentioned somehow manage to keep their website and apps open and free without forcing a subscription from its viewers. Why can't you? Why can't your advertisements on your website and app be enough to fund you, like the rest of the industry? Do you really think that you offer better or more complete news than any of your competitors? I'll tell you, you do not. The reason I frequented you before was out of convenience. I'd started viewing news with you and stuck by it. Not any more, though. You are no longer convenient for me - you're a frustration. So, I'll tell you what I won't do. I won't pay to view my news online. I won't make that extra trip to the corner market for a paper in the morning or on the weekend. I've deleted your app from my iPhone and won't be redownloading it. I've changed my browser homepage and deleted the bookmark to tulsaworld.com. Because you obviously can't get your business model together, you've lost a loyal reader. And, as someone who works in the media field, I can tell you this: you've officially started down the path to company destruction. Without radical change, there's no coming back from this.

I'll say it today, April 27, 2011, if Tulsa World doesn't change its subscription-only policy, it will go under.

You've refused to recognize the times, where people can get what they want instantly, for free, from any number of sources. Either you figure out a different way to make money, or you're toast. Your lack of ability to adapt shows that you no longer desire to be a contender in the new market that is broadcast media.You could revamp the way your ad sales work, or hire some new blood for your marketing teams. Bring in some talented web designers that bring your site into the new millenium, or make your mobile apps so over the top, that people would be begging to purchase them. Hear that? People purchase apps...not the content in them. You're about 20 years late in your business-structure.

So, Tulsa World, what will it be? Will you accept that things have changed and you need to change with them, or will you stubbornly hold onto the illusion that people will one-day decide that widely available news is worth paying one source for. Don't say you weren't warned, though....

Sincerely,

An Ex-Reader