Change is on its way

July 25, 2024

At the end of August the Oberon Review will cease producing a printed version, with only a digital version available to paid subscribers from then onward. This will leave Oberon with no printed paper concentrating on things happening in the area.

It was always the intention to eventually produce a free printed version of Oberon Matters, but the news above has changed the timetable and made the move to print more urgent.

Over the next few weeks there might be fewer stories here as all the work needed to get the print edition up and running has to be compressed into a much shorter time than planned. There's new software to be installed and learnt, a new workflow to be introduced to get both print and online versions out at approximately the same time and negotiations with printers to establish costs and printing schedules.

The initial plan is to publish an 8-12-page A4 paper each week reflecting the content of the web site. Hopefully it can be distributed at several locations around Oberon, particularly in the places where people read the papers now - the library, cafes and restaurants, supermarkets, hotels and anywhere else prepared to host a display stand.

A very rough early prototype (without advertisements) of the printed paper can be seen by clicking on the image of the front page.

The paper will be free but as it will cost to produce it, advertising will be essential to pay for it, so time will have to be spent selling the space. Rates have yet to be decided. Advertisements will run across both print and digital versions to achieve maximum exposure.

As well as physical distribution of the printed copy, the paper will be available as a downloadable PDF file from the web site and also available by email.

Creating a new media outlet is always challenging and the move to a complementary print edition will certainly be a challenge, but that's what makes life interesting.

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Update, August 8, 2024

The move to print took a step forward in the first week of August. A flier was distributed to businesses around Oberon putting the case for support for a printed publication to fill the hole left by the disappearance of the Oberon Review. You can see the flier by clicking on the image at the left.

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