Free access to Frontiersman.com returns today

It’s back! Free, unlimited access has returned to the most visited website in the Mat-Su Borough — Frontiersman.com.

Through a new partnership with Google, Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman readers now can see the first few sentences of a news story before being asked to answer a multiple-choice question from Google Consumer Surveys to access the full story. More than 90 percent of surveys are a single, simple question.

After experimenting for the past year with a subscription model for paid access to Frontiersman.com, this course should make it easier for everyone to access Frontiersman.com. While readers won’t need to login to read the news, logging in is still required to post comments.

“The goal is customer service,” said Frontiersman Publisher Mark Kelsey. “Customers told us they found the subscription log-in service complicated, and we were devoting hours of staff time providing customer service for what we have come to see as a flawed system.”

The Frontiersman is one of many newspapers nationwide using this new method to help defray the cost of owning and maintaining news websites. Under this model, businesses hire Google to conduct online surveys. Then Google makes agreements with newspapers, like the Frontiersman, to conduct the surveys one or two questions at a time at each website’s point of entry.

For businesses, this method yields more accurate data due to the increase in survey completion rates, Google says. For newspapers, the tool generates revenue each time a reader answers a survey question to gain access to read the news.

For readers, it costs nothing but a second or two of time and a couple of mouse clicks to get free, unlimited access to Frontiersman.com.

However, people also should know that the surveys are not about mining personal data or profiling for direct advertising. In fact, no personal information at all is required.

Frontiersman Managing Editor Heather Resz said the change will help the Frontiersman better serve the Valley, especially during emergencies.

“The Frontiersman has been the Valley’s primary source for local news since 1947,” Resz said. “Shortly after switching to a pay model for site access, the rain began and flooding followed. For us, this disaster highlighted the downside of paid online access. During such emergencies it’s crucial that we have the tools to communicate with all of our neighbors.”

Although Frontiersman.com is a source for some of our revenue, as a business we continue to rely heavily on the printed version and its readers to stay afloat. Many thanks to our print advertisers and subscribers; you are truly the backbone of our operation. You make it possible for us to serve our community by reporting the news for nearly 66 years.

If you are connected to us via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, expect more “news you can use” on those social media channels as we add tools that will enable our staff to post more photos and content in real time from around the Valley.

Do you have ideas for ways we can better serve our community? Drop a line to news@frontiersman.com and tell us what you love about the Frontiersman and what we could do better. Or send a letter to 5751 E. Mayflower Ct., Wasilla, AK 99654.