Johnston: By popular demand, an on-demand TV book

By Eric Johnston
ejohnston@modbee.com

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Having spent the past 12 years of my career developing online products for newspaper companies, I am convinced that no industry is working more diligently to maximize the ever-expanding electronic medium.

For the past nine months, though, I have been fortunate to serve in a capacity that gives me an overview of our entire company; identifying the needs of not only our growing online audience but also the hundreds of thousands of loyal readers who spend time in our printed newspaper each day.

Over the past couple of years — years that have been as financially challenging for us as they have been for most businesses and individuals — we have had to make adjustments just like you. While our mission — providing relevant and reliable news, information and advertising — hasn't changed, the printed product we deliver has.

One of those changes was the continued downsizing and eventual elimination of our weekly TV book. While we know that fewer and fewer people rely on printed TV guides, we also know from the calls we received that many of you still want a weekly book.

We took those complaints seriously, and while it has taken us a bit of time to find the right way to do it, I am pleased to announce that in today's paper you will find a complete weekly TV magazine called OnTV.

In the magazine you will find information for our area, including daytime, afternoon, prime-time and overnight listings as well as movie summaries, daily highlights, puzzles and other features. All our local broadcast, cable and satellite stations and systems are represented. In nearly every way, this weekly book is better than any we have offered in the past.

What is different from our prior book is that this one will be delivered on an opt-in basis. In other words, if you want the book, we will print it and deliver it with your Sunday Bee; if you don't, we won't.

For four weeks beginning today, every Bee subscriber will receive an OnTV magazine. If after that point you want to keep receiving it on Sundays, it will cost about $35 per year.

Personally, I don't use a TV book. I have become quite adept at navigating my on-screen guides and irritating my family enough with my channel surfing that the remote control is occasionally hidden.

But there are many others for whom a TV book is an important tool — and I think OnTV will be a great resource that will meet your needs.

So, look for OnTV in today's Bee. Take the next three weeks to try it out — on me. If you want to keep it coming, call 578-2211 or visit www.iwantmytvmagazine.com/modesto.

On behalf of all of The Modesto Bee employees proud to serve you from downtown Modesto, I want to thank you for reading The Bee and modbee.com.

Eric Johnston is publisher and president of The Modesto Bee. He can be reached at ejohnston@modbee.com, 578-2090 or 1325 H St., Modesto 95352.