The Foto News newspaper has served Merrill for more than 60 years. Founded by the O’Day family in 1956, the Foto News has always focused its lens locally on the news and happenings of Merrill.
Multi Media Channels purchased the Merrill Foto News in December 2012, along with a group of other newspapers and shoppers in Wisconsin. The MMC family has since grown to include publications in Waupaca, New London, Clintonville, Rhinelander, Wausau, Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield, Stevens Point and Ashwaubenon.
MMC soon developed a mission to provide weekly news coverage in print and daily news online. The goal was to reach readers in the format they preferred, whether it was digital or print, with hyper-local coverage.
For five years, a growing number of Merrill Foto News customers have been reading the news online for free at www.merrillfotonews.com.
Online news allows readers to access our stories in a more timely manner than is possible with a weekly publication. And, unlike print, digital provides unlimited virtual space for more photos of the local events we cover.
The shift to digital technology has given our newspapers more opportunities to offer a better, more creative news product.
However, providing our news product at no cost has impacted revenues. Even digital news costs money to produce.
We still must pay the salaries of our staff. Utilities, rent, travel costs and insurance cannot be ignored. Equipment must be repaired or upgraded.
Beginning Oct. 24, our customers will need to go to mmcsubscriptions.com to access the content on the Merrill Foto News website.
When readers click to access a story, they will be prompted to register or subscribe after reading their monthly limit of 20 free stories.
Online subscriptions are available for 99 cents per month or $9.99 per year. New online subscribers will need to sign up for an account, provide their email address, select a password and pay with a credit card.
That small amount of 99 cents per month will help MMC continue a 62-year tradition of providing the community with local news coverage.
The printed Foto News newspaper will continue to be free and home-delivered, as it always has been.