We subscribe because we like to read the paper - on paper. We do not subscribe so the carrier may deliver when he/she wishes, forcing us to read the paper online. If we were regularly to read it online, we would not need the print edition. And in fact we are not really sure we need the print edition anymore anyway, since more and more print edition copy has already appeared online by the time we see it in print. Also what happened to your commitment to the communities you serve? Who in Raleigh cares to read extensively about Charlotte or even Durham? We subscribe to the Raleigh paper. Give us coverage of Raleigh - thorough coverage, including arts and culture in our city - and not just bus-&-truck shows and presentations by your remaining big advertisers. Service should be the name of your game.
I have been using the N&O digital app for some time. My wife reads the actual paper and I read the digital version. In the past the app worked fairly well. With the most recent updates however it has become totally useless. We pay for our full subscription and now every time I try to log on it tells me I need to log on because it freezes all the stories and will not let me proceed. I enter the proper information and it still gives me the same message. I am paying for something that is totally useless. When it was working what I didn’t care for is that in the past you could see what the actual printed paper looked like and read it digitally. Now that option does not exist plus I don’t see on the digital version where you can read the funnies. There is not much that I care to read in the N&O because they have become so slanted in their reporting and they have an obvious agenda but I could read the funnies without their interpretation of what’s funny.
I’ve subscribed to the News and Observer for over 30 years because I believe strongly in supporting local media. Over the last several years, the N&O has become decidedly less local. It now covers Raleigh and Charlotte since McClatchy owns both the N&O as well as the Charlotte Observer. To keep costs down, they frequently run stories in both papers. Several years ago, I stopped the print edition and went exclusively with the e-edition. It still costs more than WaPost. Generally, the electronic edition does decently work on my iPad, but a recent “upgrade” eats huge amounts of memory and the only way to free it up is to delete the app and reinstall it. Yes, I’ve tried to configure the settings to delete the file every day, but it makes no difference (ate 2.28 gigs last week). I’ve tried to contact them about this issue and have received no response. You can’t talk to anyone about issues with technology. They ignore emails unless it involves your subscription. It’s the only game in town if you want state and local news, but they act like they know that all too well- and treat you accordingly.
The app has a lot of the same stories repeated over and over in different sections. If it’s going to rain tomorrow, you’ll see the same rain story in Latest News, Weather, Traffic, and probably Sports. And speaking of weather, telling me “flooding gets worse after hurricane” a month after the hurricane really isn’t news by that point, is it? I guess it’s copy and paste for McClatchy. I guess it’s copy and paste for McClatchy. I guess it’s copy and paste for McClatchy.
Since the updated app was released I need to log in every day. When I log in from the page presented (ads to buy subscription + tiny tiny sign-in hyperlink) it opens to yesterday’s paper. There is no link to the archive from that webpage. It means I have to go back out and make sure I log in from my bookmarked link to get to the main log in page. I use an iPad. One of 2 fixes is required. 1) have the sign-in page shown on the subscription buying page go to the main log in page 2) add an archive link to the main page for each edition I make a pdf version each day to read the paper because the screen is very sensitive and I hate having articles suddenly open to a full article. I find it annoying & disruptive.
Terrible app. First of all, this is the original, web based app rolled out years ago, prior to the Olive Software version. So, this is more a weblink iPad widget for a Safari bookmark than an actual app. It was obsolete then, and ancient now. Page view is so clunky, the page is blurry and sits there 10 minutes trying to load. There is no dedicated page view. Loads slowly, text is blurry, there is no function to share stories on social media any more. Flash ads intrude on readability and take over the page, and freeze the app. McClatchy, not content with ruining newspapers, has now made reading the e-edition impossible. What are they trying to do, destroy newspapers completely? “ Old Reliable “ has become unreliable and this is perhaps the most ill conceived app ever made. Edit: Doesn’t load at all now. Needs ZERO stars. Will be cancelling my subscription.
Not sure why I haven't cancelled subscription, as I've not been able to read the News & Observer since new app/desktop version began in October 2019. Pages load slowly or not at all, and if page does load it's blurry. Desktop version has left side 1/4 of the page used as advertising, so font is too tiny to read. To read an article, if it loads, you must click & hold to move the article up, down, left, & right to read. I've tried going to their links for Local News or Living and find dated articles from a few days to a few MONTHS old. Also as far as the notation the "bugs were fixed", the fix changed nothing. I've not received responses to my email contacts, even when I include the capitalized the phrase,"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE RESPOND. Cancelling my subscription now.
I have been patiently trying to work with the new News and Observer app to understand its features and controls, but have reached a point that it is almost not worth it. I like to read the full page format, but this is now so annoying. Specifically.. -a large advertising bar has significantly reduced readable space -ads on that bar change every 30 seconds causing a distraction to draw attention -every time the ad changes, the article text blurs to draw your attention to the ad and you must touchthe text to clear it -can’t highlight and print an article without going to a crop function which barely works. This online edition is very inexpensive, but I would rather pay more and get a workable newspaper. My wife has already given up in frustration. It is sad that the only Triangle newspaper is discarding the readers is has left due to very poor app design or more likely an extreme focus on on advertising revenues. Even the online single article format is so interspersed with large flashing advertising that is is not enjoyable to use. Wake up N& O!
I’ve been a N&O subscriber for years, because I want to support local news. But this app is so bad it’s making me reconsider my subscription (which is more expensive that the WaPo, FWIW). The app crashes multiple times when reading every story, and sends you back to the home page once again. The stories highlighted are often totally outdated. In the Durham section there are stories that are like 2 years old! I know times are tough for local papers, but please hire some developers to build a functional app or more and more people are gonna reject this paper. PS. I deleted and redownloaded the app multiple times as suggested. It makes no difference. The problem is the app, not some outdated version.
The previous edition read like a newspaper in my hands. Go directly to any section by pulling menu list down. Just like a newspaper. I saw no warning of the ‘improvements’ and unable to use paper as I expected. Finally called and emailed the executive editor, Mr Church, but never responded. My wife stumbled upon the revised access. Went to the app, which is not usable - who wants to select types of stories, etc? Just want to access the paper as I would in hand. What do I do now? Select the eedition and flip through all the pages until I get to the section desired. And why can’t the menu option be brought back as an option?
I understand the desire for modernization, but the recent redesign has made this unusable. Key things to address: 1) Loading speed on first launch - spinner continues for nearly a minute before the articles load. 2) Links from notifications - rarely open anything, and if they do, the often end up at the main page, rather than the intended article. 3) Random app closures - Often I click on the app, it struggles to load any content and then shuts down 4) Overall UI - There are redundant categories (like “State Politics” and “Under the Dome”). Adding in the large tiles makes it difficult to scan the news for top headlines. Even though it seems visually appealing, you’ve made it more difficult and needing more clicks to get to the articles I want to see. It orders them by section, so I’m always seeing the same sections at the top, even when there is no new content available. Please bring the old design back or do some production level usability testing to repair this.
A couple of the reviewers gave this app five stars, then said it was a terrible app, which it is! They apparently don’t know that five stars means good. For a communications company to have an app that works as poorly as this one is a disgrace! In addition to reading the news, I like to do the word jumble and read the advice columns. To find them I had to scroll through to the obit section - they’re buried there. Each page loads with a blurry image, then eventually comes into focus. Google ads pop up constantly, which makes the rest of the text jump around. Very annoying!! And, at $106+ per year for the subscription, if there were another local news subscription available, I would cancel the N&O.
This new link is substantially inferior to the previous link that ceased to function on September 30, 2019. One has to log in each time rather than remaining logged in when app is closed. The app no longer links to the page for a continued story. Readers must scroll all the way to the page and then back to the original page. Readers have to scroll page to page because the next page arrow function has been removed. As a result, the product is less like an actual paper than the old app. I fear that publishers have added one more nail to the coffin of a once proud newspaper.
This update is a step backwards. I prefer the full page view and being directed to a poorly functional web page is a very big step backwards. Scrolling and zooming are work poorly. You need to do that because a significant portion of the top and bottom of the page a lost to header and/or adds. N&O is one of three newspapers I read. The others are smooth. The N&O web page is a frustration. It was not this way before the update. So why do I prefer the e edition. Because I feel that the news is less cherry picked and I all. New low on the e edition today. The add at the bottom of the page was taller and so the bottom of the comics page could not be read. Please fix this mess.
Those of us who fully subscribe to the N&O, are typically readers who look for relevant current news and editorials, whether online or in print. We know the feeling of a good read. This digital image of the of the printed paper is handicapped with pop ups, and contrived little nuisances that interrupt the flow of the text. The skeptic in me wonders if there is an attempt to undermine this digital print image, just to make us all give up and read the online live feed version. Please appeal to our intelligence as readers and fix this digital print version so that it is as easy and enjoyable to read as our print copy.
I have not been able to access content since latest update. Have cleared data as well as reloaded app and still get error message. Received response from developer for a work around— I erased the app so have not tried the solution but appreciate the response. “There is an issue where Private Relay is affecting the news feed, which we are working to resolve. Go to Settings and disable Private Relay, and the news feed should reappear."
The previous app simply gave an electronic replica of the newspaper. It was essentially the same as reading the actual paper version. This new app has not been designed with such subscriber readability in mind. Instead of improving the app, the new version is confusing and cumbersome to use. It appears that computer geeks have designed it and N&O newspaper people haven’t applied common sense as to the electronic version being usable by the subscribing public.
Suggest adding replica display functionality to this App
We’ve been long time subscribers to the N&O. Over the years we moved from the print edition to digital. I used the previous N&O e-edition App on iPad in Replica mode until this week. With the change of web address to access the e-edition the old App can no longer access the daily news. This newer App does not support Replica mode. It opens a browser link for this. This is something I could do without the App. For those of us who prefer to read the digital paper in replica mode the new App provides no real value. Please consider adding this functionality.
“Breaking News” has a freakishly huge definition nowadays, and this app and its push notification has managed to expand it even more. I understand there’s a toggle option to turn off push notifications entirely, but I still want to be aware of local “Breaking News” (the narrower version). Maybe a great solution would an option to select specific notification topics within the app (Ex: the option to turn off the three notifications that UNC men’s basketball beat Pitt... huzzah?!).
I have subscribed to N&O paper format for years and occasionally used the digital app while traveling. I recently switched to digital only due to outrageous cost of printed edition and the complicated bureaucracy of finding your subscription information. I appreciate the state and local coverage of the N&O. The digital version of the printed paper is a reasonable substitute for the printed paper. HOWEVER SERIOUS FLAW in the digital version is that when the pop up adds change, they move the screen causing the reader to lose their place in the article. Their very existence is annoying enough since the jump around. That would be tolerable if they did not cause the whole article to reformat on the page causing the reader frustration finding one’s way back into the article. My advice to readers is stick with New York Times for national and international articles and waste time only on local news.
The new version of this app came out three months ago, and it still doesn’t work. Tapping through from a notification to a story doesn’t work reliably, and even if it does, it takes forever. I’ve talked to support and followed their instructions through three or four rounds of emails only to be told what I already know: there are big bugs in this version, so wait. This version was not ready for prime time, and yet we keep getting told to wait for the next version, which doesn’t seem to be coming. Time to get it together, N&O!
This app frequently freezes. When you try to zoom in or enlarge a page, it cuts off half to three quarters of the page. App is frequently behind, you would think a daily paper would have the right day, but often at 7am, it is still yesterday’s paper. The owners of the News and Observer have already run a lot of old readers off by making the physical daily paper to expensive- they try to make you use the digital forum- but unfortunately- they have provided a horrible, non user friendly app. Maybe it is just the iPhone it doesn’t work on, can’t find this app on a Kindle device.
I read the paper in the App just like a newspaper, but do not download it. I just go page by page, and it’s good. Except for one thing: while engrossed in reading, if I accidentally brush my iPad or touch it in ANY way, the App brings up “Close story,” so I have to click on it to return to where I was reading. VERY ANNOYING. Breaks my train of thought. And don’t tell me to read in the “download version,” please. I like pretending that I am still reading a REAL newspaper and not staring at a screen. Thank you for listening.
When I in use the News and Observer app I will get a banner announcing some story. I touch the banner and with every other application you go directly to the story. Not the case here. It’s swirls forever loading and I have to touch it again to make it stop loading and then I have to find the story that was featured. I don’t understand why you can’t link banners directly to the stories. Very disappointing.
This app is miserable to use. You click on an article, you begin reading that article and within a 5-45 second time frame the app automatically brings you back to the home page, mid sentence, mid paragraph etc. From the home page you find and click on the article you were just reading, scroll down to where you left off aaaaand the app takes you back to the home page again. Essentially it’s impossible to read the content you are PAYING to read. Local journalism is so important. I truly want to support the N&O but this app unusable.
I have been a subscriber for 40+ years and switched to digital a few years ago to save money and waste. This is one of 3 newspapers I subscribe to and read via apps. The N&O app is not even close to the quality of my 2 other newspaper apps. I won’t go into the details of what disgusts me and makes me stop reading the N&O many mornings and switch to other local news sources with superior digital platforms. Others have fully explained the reason so many of us are frustrated, and that some are cancelling their subscriptions. Please fix the irritating issues before more of us give up on the N&O altogether.
I like the app that allows me to read the paper as it appears delivered. I do not like the stories listed on the left side of the page. Whereas I can read the paper as it exists if delivered by clicking on an icon at the top, it has several flaws. One in particular is when I get toward the bottom of a “page” the prose keeps popping back up, not allowing me to read to the bottom. Additionally, the app switches to a printable type version too easily that I don’t prefer. This can happen with a light touch or a swipe. Essentially, I find this app irritating at best.
I like this app and use it everyday. The only problem is that coverage of Hurricanes hockey is usually buried in the sports section. Even though they haven’t had much success lately, a major league team should have a place of prominence in local sports outlets. It also puts more pressure on the team to play up to the expectations of the fan base. And unlike a college team, the Canes aren’t divided among school loyalties.
The new format is terrible. Half the time it doesn’t load and you used to be able to tap on article to zoom the entire page, now it zooms just on that article. Also so far I cannot find a way to pay through the app. Please go back to the old format. Update! It only gets worse. Today when I try to access the e-edition it is advising of special prices and ask that I login. I TRY to take the link to the sign in page and it puts me in a loop. Unable to sign in. Glad I just gave away $106 for a product that only gets worse.
The original e-edition app worked fine (most of the time). The new version of the N&O app that came out the first week of October, 2019 is awful. The e-edition can only be accessed by clicking the newspaper icon in the upper LEFT of the screen which just sends you to an online version of the e-edition, which between the tiny printface and poor screen placement is virtually unreadable. I called N&O customer service to complain and was told by someone who really didn’t seem to care that “it’s being worked on”. I asked for some kind of compensation and was offered a two-week subscription credit.
Update app version is terrible compared to actual print view
When reading the paper on a Saturday (when print edition not published), the new “editions” view is difficult to use and read. I want to see quickly what the headlines are on every page, not keep hitting a button to just look at a view. On top of that, I can’t even close the Google Ad panel at the bottom of the screen which takes up 20% of my iPad screen - your demo video even includes that! I used to like the app. Now I may cancel my auto-renewal.
My delivery person is outstanding…… my paper is even double wrapped to keep it dry if rain is expected.I am delighted that the online version is available being routinely upgraded band able to bring news to me more immediately but nothing can beat holding and reading the N&O in your hands! LTA- Louisburg
The new app version won’t allow me to login to see the eEdition, freezing the app after I enter my credentials and tap the button. Multiple attempts after each time restarting the app yield the same result. Restarting my iPad, updating to iOS 15.6, and restarting the app still yields the same result. I tried calling customer support for help, but they insist they can’t find my subscription, even though I’ve been a News & Observer subscriber for 26 years. After struggling for years, I think the N&O is finally dying.
The worst app I have had on an iPhone in 10 years. It’s simply does not work. The News and Observer is unresponsive to emails or to the multitude of 1 and 2 star reviews stating the same problem. I don’t think I have ever written a review for an app before, but if this review prevents someone from the frustration of using this app, or the N&O takes notice, than I am glad. This is a terrible app that does not work, please do not download it, rather read the paper via a browser on your phone, tablet or computer.
I bought an iPad and moved to digital delivery since the print N&O is so tiny and so late with the news. I hated to do it because I loved my daily paper. But now I find: No search function that I can find (still can’t believe it and feel I’m doing something wrong.) No comics! Can’t find them without the search function. Anemic customer service function which apparently sends an email and advises you to telephone if you want quick service. No wonder McClatchy is in bankruptcy.
I have been a subscriber for 40 years and moved to the e-edition when we moved downtown to a condo. I was out of the country the past two weeks when the newer “improved” edition was released, and the inability to read the blurry script I blamed on the hotel’s WiFi. I am home now and this not about the hotel’s WiFi, but is all about this new e-edition. This really stinks and must be changed or dramatically improved if I am going to continue to be a loyal supporter of The News and Observer as my source for the free press in this country!
Since updating to the new app, my device freezes up every time I open the app to read the paper. We never had this problem with the old app or with other apps we access on our device. Plus if we don’t open the app for 2-3 days, we are required to reenter our user name and password. As we receive the physical paper on the weekends, this is a weekly issue. We have a subscription so I am unsure why the app would require reentry so often.
This app constantly shuts down. I’ve just opened 6 times in a row and can’t get it to open. Breaking news alerts never open. I’ve been a subscriber for 6 years. I canceled the physical paper and went all digital bc the carrier would only intermittently deliver to me. I kept my digital subscription even though I moved to Wilmington, but McClatchy doesn’t seem invested in getting their product out, so why should I continue to invest in them? It’s a shame bc they have great journalists on staff.
I can read the News and Observer newspaper on my iPhone but can’t open it on my iPad. Both devices are new and up to date. Any solutions? Kind of a bummer because I don’t get the physical paper. PRobably going to cancel if I can’t resolve soon, even though I believe in supporting the local news.
Previous to the current version I thought that the app was great, much better than the Washington Post app, which I also have subscribed to. Now it has greatly regressed. Was there any Human Factors work done? The four shaded bars on the two sides are very distracting. If you try to zoom in on an article along the side it is overlaid with the shaded area. If you double click to bring up the article it also displays summaries on the right in horizontal viewing. To many other deficiencies to list here.
I don’t normally leave reviews but this app is fairly lousy. I’ve used it for a couple years and despite a significant revamp a year or so ago it still routinely logs you out and forces you through a bunch of hurdles to log back in. The content is useful as the main local print news source (that isn’t very skewed left/right) in the Triangle which is the only reason this isn’t 1 star.
Upon opening this app for the first time, I'm prompted whether or not to allow the app to access my location when I use the app. However, there is no explanation as to why it wants my location and what it would use my location for. All it says is "N&O wants to access your location". If you want to access my location, let me know why you want it and what you use it for so I can make an informed decision as to whether to allow access. This alone merits a one-star rating.
The new format is awful! Until 10/1, one could open the app and get a screen that looked like a newspaper! Now taps on side to open articles, not good format! If you want “pages of newspapers,” it opens into the browser and must sign in every time! Ridiculous! Return to previous app setup! Would get home delivery again BUT not willing to pay over $800+ a year! Called customer service, was told information would be sent email, been waiting for that email since 8AM (it’s 5PM now)! Very disappointing!
Whoever designed and tested this app apparently never tried to read the content on an iPad. The text needs to be magnified to be readable but that then requires moving the page around on the screen to read all the articles. However, moving toward the right or left edge of each page triggers unintended jumps to previous and following pages. The result is that reading the paper is not the leisurely and enjoyable daily ritual that it should be. The previous version was much better
This app is terrible. I cannot get it to load any content, I just get the “loading” spinner forever and nothing will ever come up. Tried deleting the app and re-installing it, no change. Same issue on my wife’s iPhone so I know it’s not just me. Can’t believe I paid for a “digital access” subscription only to have such a useless app. Cancelling my service, maybe they will get a developer on it and fix the issues.
Really do not like this app. I am a digital subscriber and to read the paper it transfers me to Safari where I have to sign in every time. The font is so small I need to enlarge the page but to read the next page I have to reduce the page size to be able to see the page scroll buttons. Most likely my last year as a subscriber. Sad what they did. To add...now there is pop up adds at the bottom that you cannot turn off. We have a paid subscription. What a pain.
A big step backwards for latest app and digital print edition
1. Why must we authenticate every day? Set a security token with a month to live like the previous version. 2. 4+ steps now to download the digital print edition in a less usable form than the discontinued standalone app was. Have to: Load the app Click on the print edition icon to get a lousy, blurry image with intrusive ads Click the download icon Respond to a prompt that asks if “you’re sure” (I am less sure every day!) A blob is downloaded to a safari browser tab that no longer has working links between articles that span multiple pages. AND the blob disappears from the browser tab after some period of time. Please resolve this or count me among those featured in an article titled N&O digital subscriptions continue to decline.
The N&O has updated their app, and user experience, once again, and once again it is an epic fail. The opening from the publisher says it all, it has not been well received. What makes them think this will be different? Sorry N&O, once my subscription is over, so is my association with your paper. If you want to see what a good customer experience is, please look to just about any of your competitors; the times, post, WSJ, etc.
This app is horrible. Initially it would crash anytime I would attempt to load into the app. Currently it is telling me to update an already updated app and when clicking on the update button (since it won’t allow me to view anything without an update) it takes me to a completely different app. This means that I can’t even use the app at all (have I mentioned how I’m paying a monthly fee as a subscriber to the paper?).
It has been impossible to access the eEditon since The 9.6.1 update released July 27. I am a true believer in supporting local journalism, but my god fix your DevOps. It is going on three weeks now that I have been unable to access any subscriber content. Another interesting thing I have learned is that the monthly subscription rate I am paying is literally twice as much as the current advertised rate.
Connect to the Raleigh News & Observer newspaper app wherever you are. Receive the latest local and breaking news from Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the Triangle area in North Carolina. The N&O reports on the local topics you care about, including local weather, traffic, crime, sports and national news. Features of the app include: • Breaking news alerts and real-time updates. • The local news and sports topics you care about from around the Triangle area. • View stunning photos and videos of news coverage and events. • The News & Observer opinions, editorials and columns you love. • Ability to share stories and galleries on Facebook, Twitter or by email. • An app-native eEdition of the printed newspaper, including 60 additional pages in the ExtraExtra section. Read our Privacy policy here: https://www.newsobserver.com/customer-service/privacy-policy/text-only/ Read our Terms of Service here: https://www.newsobserver.com/customer-service/terms-of-service/text-only/ For California Residents: To learn more about managing your sharing preferences and Do Not Sell My Info rights visit https://www.newsobserver.com/customer-service/privacy-policy/text-only/#notice_california
