A few days ago I asked a simple favour: tell me what you really think of Morning Post. Not the polite version — the honest one. 146 of you did, in detail. I've read every single response. Here's what you said, and what I'm changing because of it.
First, thank you. People are busy, and you didn't have to. Plenty of you wrote a sentence; plenty more wrote paragraphs. A few of you told me off (fairly). It was the most useful week of feedback I've had since I started this.
And before I get into what you said, a bit of honesty that colours all of it: Morning Post is just me — one person and a laptop, up before the sun to get this into your inbox. I'm not a media company; I'm someone having a crack at building one. Which is exactly why your feedback matters as much as it does.
What you told us
You read it with your morning cuppa. Most of you open Morning Post on your phone, most often in bed or over breakfast. That's exactly the moment I picture when I'm putting it together, so it's good to know I'm aiming at the right target.
The local news is why you're here. Of all the sections, your local news is the one you read most — almost universally — and "keep it local" was the single loudest thing you told me. A lot of you would happily see less national and international news and more from your own backyard. Message received.
The puzzles matter far more than I realised. When I asked which one section you'd miss most if it vanished tomorrow, the answer wasn't the news — it was the trivia, the quizzes and the brainteaser, right alongside the local news. Some of you do them with your grandkids; some of you forward them to family every morning. I'd quietly thought of the games as a nice extra. You've corrected me: they're a main course.
The biggest frustration was paywalls. More than anything else, you told me it's annoying to tap a story and hit a "subscribe to read" wall. That's the clearest, most fixable problem you raised.
And you want a few new things — by a clear margin, a books / reading slot and gardening (the seasonal, "what to plant right now" kind). After that: pets, a bit of tech help, local history and good-news stories about your own community.
What I'm changing
Not everything at once — but here's what your feedback has moved to the top of my list:
- Fewer paywalls. I'll lean harder on news sources you can actually read for free, and when a big story is locked away, I'll look for an open version of it. When something is behind a paywall, I'll make the lock clearer so you're not caught out.
- More local, leaner national and world news. Your local section is the heart of Morning Post and it's going to stay that way. National and international will get tighter, and where there's a local angle, I'll find it.
- The puzzles stay — and grow. They're not going anywhere. I'll protect their spot, fix the niggle of losing your place when you jump back in, and look at giving the puzzle-lovers among you a little more to chew on.
- Tighter accuracy. A few of you caught genuine slips — a quiz answer left showing, a "tomorrow" that should have read "today". You're right, and I'm tightening the checks that are meant to catch exactly that.
- A books slot. Easily the most-requested new idea. I'll add a regular reading corner — book picks worth your time.
- Seasonal gardening, tuned to your city. What to plant, what to prune, right now, where you live.
- More good news from your own community. Several of you said you'd rather not start the day with doom. Fair. I'll make more room for the local wins.
- Better "What's On". More notice before events happen, a wider spread across the whole city, and a heads-up when tickets go on sale.
A couple of things I'm not changing: the length (more of you want it longer than shorter), and the free price tag. Morning Post stays free — that was the overwhelming message, and I'm keeping it that way.
One thing did surprise me, though: a good number of you said you hadn't realised you could support Morning Post even if you wanted to — and a few of you said you'd want to know where the money actually goes first. Fair enough. Here's the honest answer.
Right now, Morning Post loses money. I run it on my own, around a family and a mortgage, and every dollar it makes goes straight back in — the sending costs, the tools, the early mornings — to get it to the point where it can stand on its own two feet and, one day, support my family the way a regular job would. That's the whole ambition: not to get rich, just to make this sustainable enough that I get to keep doing it for you.
So if you've ever wanted to chip in, there are two ways: a Founding Supporter membership ($5 a month or $50 a year), or the shop, where I've put a few things I've made for readers — like the Just-In-Case Folder. Neither is ever expected, and the paper stays free either way — but for a one-person operation, every single one genuinely makes a difference.
Keep telling me what you think — I do read it, and clearly it changes things. Got strong opinions you didn't get to share, praise or complaints? Send them straight to me here — every message lands in my inbox.
Thank you for letting Morning Post into your morning — and for backing one person having a go at building something local that lasts. Whether you support it, share it, or simply open it each day, that's what keeps it going.
Founder & Editor, Morning Post