By Jay Plotkin
jplotkin@acnnewspapers.com
Two weeks ago I had the privilege of letting Westlake Picayune subscribers know that in short order we would be taking control of newspaper delivery on a weekly basis.
Now, I have that same privilege with our loyal Lake Travis View subscribers. In about six weeks – beginning with our March 12 issue – subscribers will receive their paper via carrier delivery instead of through the mail.

 For years your newspaper has been delivered by the postal service, sometimes on time but sometimes not. You have been involved enough with your newspaper to let us know when you haven’t gotten the newspaper in your Thursday mail, and I’m sure it has seemed like we were either unable or unwilling to do something to improve our delivery. This is a battle that we’ve been fighting for what seems like years.
To that end, I’m happy to report that, after months of planning – led by a team of Austin Community Newspaper publishers, myself and the circulation and home delivery team at the American-Statesman – we are taking control of our weekly delivery. Beginning with our March 12 issue, our subscribers should receive the newspaper by the time they wake up. The Lake Travis View will be delivered directly to your homes by the American-Statesman carriers. Most Lake Travis View subscribers should receive their papers by 6 a.m. The rest should be delivered in short order after that. If you’re a subscriber and your paper isn’t there by the time NBC’s Today show starts, call our redelivery number – 445-4040 – by 9 a.m., and we’ll be able to get you a paper before lunch.
This change should address the most persistent complaint we’ve gotten over the past few years. Sadly, despite increased rates, the postal service has not been able to guarantee that subscribers will receive their papers on our publication day of Thursday. This is simply unacceptable. Despite our best efforts to implore, entice, demand and plead with the post office to make that Thursday window, we could never count on the fact that Thursday delivery would take place week-in and week-out. When something is out of your immediate control, you can never really count on it.
So this move brings control of delivery back into our hands. There will be issues. Delivery will still not be perfect, but at least with delivery in our control, subscribers we miss initially can still get their papers on Thursday. You will no longer have to check your mail on Friday to see if you really didn’t get the paper.
To make this go as smoothly as possible, we need your help. A number of subscribers elect to receive their mail at a post office box. If you are one of these subscribers, you may want to call Leslie Mackie in our office at 263-1100 or e-mail lmackie@ltview.com and change that delivery address to your home. If you have specific delivery instructions – such as deliver on sidewalk or deliver on driveway – please contact us and let us know. We’ll do our best to put the paper exactly where you want it. Please remember the number to call if you don’t receive your paper by the time you’re done with breakfast. It’s not often we direct our customers elsewhere, but the redelivery number is a direct line to the circulation department at the American-Statesman.
Finally, we will have some subscribers who will continue to receive the paper through the mail. Part of our coverage area is rural, and we may not have drivers headed that way. We experienced this when we converted one of our sibling papers a year ago, and we ended up with some customers who were unhappy with our accuracy on the rural address. These customers are classified as “non-deliverable.” Knowing the potential challenge here, we’ve decided the best course of action is to leave these subscribers as mail delivery. As we wrap up our planning and conversion research, we will do our best to notify anyone we discover who might fall into this category. Those who are “non-deliverable” will still receive their paper through the mail.
Another aspect of rural delivery is the distance between roadway and house. Some subscribers will likely have long driveways leading from the road back to the main house, especially if you’re on a ranch-type house. Some of you might already have tubes in which other papers – namely the American-Statesman – can be placed. This can also serve as your Lake Travis View delivery place. If you don’t have a tube and would like one so the paper isn’t simply thrown on the driveway, we are looking into being able to provide one for you so you’ll know exactly where to find your Lake Travis View each Thursday.
We’re excited about taking control of getting you your newspaper, and we trust that you’ll let us know how we’re doing, on all fronts, not just this one.