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Kansas Citians Consume News In Many Different Ways

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As we reported last week on how The Kansas City Star is changing, we wanted to know more about how  news is consumed in Kansas City.

We took to social media and our airwaves and asked, “How do you keep up with the news?”  

The responses included many digital sources, spanning online versions of newspapers to online news digests, plus email and mobile news services. Some of the news outlets that were mentioned included:  The Wall Street Journal; The Kansas City Star; New York Times; Washington Post; CNN; KCTV5 and others.

“The paper doesn't do much news anymore,” @flyingember tweets us. “TV requires a schedule. I use app alerts, Twitter, websites.”

Others also said they used social media as a news filter.

“I follow key local and state reporters and media on Twitter, thereby making them my ‘headline news service,’” @enoughkc tweets us.

We received several responses pointing to radio and more traditional forms of media. (We weren’t fishing for compliments, but thank you for the KCUR mentions.)

On Facebook, Anna Licata said she listens to the radio and reads “an actual physical newspaper.” “Grew up doing both, always have,” Licata tells us. “I'm a huge fan of technology, even taught technology classes, but it's just a personal quirk to love an old-fashioned newspaper.”

In preparation for our reporting and talk show discussion about The Kansas City Star, we also reached out via e-mail through our Tell KC networkwith a more pointed question: Do you read The Kansas City Star?We got more than two dozen replies from subscribers and non-subscribers alike. We included one subscriber -- Corinne Corley -- in our story about The Star.Here's a sampling of some of the other responses:

* Susanna Gruesel, a 24-year-old living in Kansas City, Kansas, has been a subscriber for less than a year. She values the paper's mobile app: "Love getting fast updates via mobile app notifications. I primarily use the app but frequently pick up the print at coffee shops, etc."

* Subscriber, Brooke Poindexter, of Overland Park, wrote: "I come from a long line of Star readers. My grandparents owned a route in the Plaza. So I grew up emptying paper machines of the quarters, taking calls from subscribers reported missing or wet papers and delivering statements by hand to all the apartment buildings. I read the paper every day ( that I receive it we've been struggling with delivery issues). I love to hold the paper and read it and the smell of the paper. I understand by the time I get the news now that I could have already heard about it on the TV or Internet. I rarely use the digital version."

* Kelly Pfannenstiel, of Olathe, can't imagine her day without The Star: "I read the paper daily and hate the thought of the print version eventually going away. Love mornings when I can sit and read the paper while drinking coffee!"

* Elizabeth Darr, of Kansas City, has been a subscriber for 11 years: "I've read a daily paper all my life. I value seeing local news in written form (so I can evaluate the statements - too easy to exaggerate in verbal form). I appreciate the editorials, letters to the editor and the columnists. I confess I also like the comics, Miss Manners and Dear Abby."

* Cindy Spear, 81, says she would have "a big blank" in her life if she didn't have the paper each day: "I like the print!! There are many more letters to the editor from males than females. Some letters are obnoxious!"

* Joel Whitaker, of Leawood, has been a subscriber for 20 years, and he had a lot to share:  "My wife and I read the paper version daily. There is something about that tactile experience that we still love. However, I hate that 90% of the paper is ads. Literally entire pages except a 1 inch by 1 inch square are ads. For some stories, we can really get a lot more detail and background. But again, it is that experience of sitting across the kitchen table from each other. It is a more shared experience than each of us having a tablet to look at as we need to share."

* Subscriber Jo-Lynne Worley, of Kansas City, says she is getting ready to cancel her subscription:  "We don't like the price increase or the fact that subscribers don't have access to the website."

And, no surprise,  non-subscribers were more critical.

* Terry Blastenbrei, of Olathe, says the paper is too pricey: "Between what I get from The Star's social media feeds and other media in town, I don't feel an overwhelming desire to have a subscription."

* David Izzard, of Leawood, was a bit harsher: "I remember when we would get The Kansas City Times in the morning and The Star in the afternoon. As a kid I looked forward to it but moving back to Kansas City after 35 years away and trying The Star, I was disgusted with the low quality it had become."

* Linda Mott, 62, signed up for the paper but found the format hard to deal with on her computer. She also did not like the billing process: "It was not the KC Star I was dealing with and I did not feel comfortable with who was doing it. I will try it again if they have made changes. I want to support local news."

Tell KCUR is part of an initiative to engage the community and shine a light on your experiences and opinions. We’ll ask a new question every other week and then share your feedback on the air and online. Check out our arsenal of questions and your answers

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