Press Democrat Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the most common questions we receive. If your question is not here, please feel free to ask us.
What are your terms and conditions?
Click here for the terms and conditions.
What are your subscription rates?
Click here for the current subscription rates or call (707) 575-7500 for information. Basic Weekly Subscription Rates: Print & Digital: Daily $13 | Sunday Only $10 | Wed-Sun $12 | Fri-Sun $12. All rates include print delivery, unlimited access to pressdemocrat.com, the eEdition (an exact replica of each day’s print edition), and The Press Democrat app. Daily Print Only $12.50 I Fri-Sun Print Only $9.25 I Sunday Only Print $7.25 I Digital Only $9
Why do you increase subscribers’ rates?
For The Press Democrat to continue to print and deliver a daily newspaper, we need to rely more on our subscribers and less on other revenues to fund the operation.
The mission of The Press Democrat – to seek the truth and help people understand the world – it is as vital as ever. And it is readers like you who make our journalism possible. Thank you.
Many media companies have seen declining revenues occurring over the past several years. Numerous media companies have moved to digital-only subscription models or have completely shut down.
Our company has looked at expense savings. We’ve eliminated positions, we held off on replacing vacated positions outside the newsroom. We stopped printing The Press Democrat in Rohnert Park and are now printing our papers in Fremont, California. In 2023, The Press Democrat moved our main office location of 93 years to a new office location to save money. We have restructured departments, positions have been eliminated, and departments have been outsourced to reduce our overhead expenses.
We have done everything possible to manage our costs and will continue to look to minimize expenses wherever possible.
Regrettably, the financial pressures on media companies are part of an ongoing transformation.
The increased rates on subscriptions will help us sustain and strengthen our coverage at a time when it is increasingly difficult and expensive to produce original, quality journalism.
If you have any additional questions about rate increases, our customer service team is available 7 days a week to assist. Customer service can be reached at 707-575-7500. Their hours are Monday through Friday from 6 am to 4 pm, Saturday 7 am to 12 pm, and Sunday 7 am to 11:30 am. You can also email questions to us at: help@pressdemocrat.com.
There’s a problem with my newspaper subscription. What should I do?
There are three ways to report a delivery problem:
Online Account Management: Report a delivery issue
Email: help@pressdemocrat.com
Phone: 707-575-7500
For more information about managing your subscription, please visit howto.pressdemocrat.com.
What’s the difference between the website, eEdition, and App?
PressDemocrat.com is our news website that provides up-to-the-minute access to all the latest local stories, events, games, videos, and much more. If you’re a paying subscriber, you’ll also have access to premium content you won’t find anywhere else.
The Press Democrat eEdition is an interactive PDF version of our printed paper that is included with every print and digital subscription. You can access the eEdition through any web browser or The Press Democrat App. Read and flip the pages just like the printed version of the paper with extra features, including the ability to digitally save a copy of your favorite articles, editions, audio files, and images.
The Press Democrat App is the most convenient way to read stories on your phone, tablet, and other mobile devices. Experience the latest local news from pressdemocrat.com and our eEdition in one seamless app.
How do I contact editors, writers, or columnists?
Phone: The Press Democrat offices at (707) 526-8570
Email: firstname.lastname @ Press Democrat.com
Mail: Staff Member, The Press Democrat, 416 B Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Our goal is to respond to everyone who contacts the newspaper. Please allow some time for response because of the volume of feedback, questions and story proposals our writers and editors receive and because of their schedules and news coverage demands.
Where are you located, and what are your business hours?
The Press Democrat main offices are located at 416 B Street in Santa Rosa. The offices are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
How do I submit a letter for publication?
You can e-mail your Letter to the Editor to: letters@pressdemocrat.com.
Clear, brief letters on a single subject are most likely to be published. Those selected might be edited. Because of space constraints and the volume of reader mail, Letters to the Editor are limited to 200 words.
Please include your full name for publication, street address and daytime phone number, letters not containing contact information will not be published. Letters must be written exclusively for The Press Democrat.
How do I submit a press release?
Press releases should be directed to the reporter or editor covering your topic of interest. Please avoid blanketing editors and reporters with the same press release. Responses cannot be made to press releases because of the large number that arrive daily in the newsroom. Press releases are used based on newsworthiness and not all can be published or used for an article.
If you have an event, you are welcome to enter it in the Events Calendar.
Corrections
The Press Democrat corrects all errors of substance and clarifies information in news stories that was misleading or unbalanced. Corrections or clarifications typically appear on the front page of the section in which the error appeared, and they should always appear in the online version of the content.
How do I submit a paid Life Tribute (obituary)?
How do I tell you that’s something wrong with the website?
Please e-mail the webmaster. If the problem is a typo, dead link, missing graphic, or other simple problem, we can usually address it right away. If there is a conflict with pressdemocrat.com and your particular computer/browser/connection setup, we’ll need to get some more information from you.
Where can I find previously-published articles?
We have partnerships with three different online archives. See links below:
Archive Search: 1995 – present https://pressdemocrat.newsbank.com/
Archive Search: 1923 – 1997 https://www.newspapers.com/paper/the-press-democrat/5136/?id=5136&title=the-press-democrat
Archive Search: 1875 – 1928 https://cdnc.ucr.edu/
For use of old photos or articles for commercial use, please reach out to info@pressdemocrat.com with your inquiry.
You can also find copies of every edition of The Press Democrat at Sonoma County Libraries.
I saw an article in the paper/online but I can’t find it online/in the paper. Where is it?
Most Press Democrat articles and photographs appearing in the newspaper are archived online, but not all of them. There also are several features such as blogs and entertainment listings and coverage that only appear in the online edition.
Can I reprint a Press Democrat article or photograph on my website?
No. All Press Democrat stories and photos appearing in print or on pressdemocrat.com are copyrighted and may not be reprinted, republished or archived without express permission. The Press Democrat does not authorize its material to be posted to a website or elsewhere online. Direct inquiries about re-use or republication of photographs or stories should be sent to Allison Gibson, Director of Photography, allison.gibson@pressdemocrat.com.
You are welcome to link to any stories or photos appearing on pressdemocrat.com, provided the link lists pressdemocrat.com as the source.
How do I place a Legal Notice?
Simply contact our Legal Advertising Department at (707) 526-8508 for assistance.
Where do I submit announcements for wedding, engagements, anniversaries, birthdays or other celebrations?
It’s easy to place an announcement in print and/or online. Simply call (707) 546-2020 and we’ll get you started!
What are your advertising rates?
Click here for our print and digital advertising information.
Click here for our print and digital Legal, Announcement, and Merchandise advertising information.
Comments:
We encourage comment on our reporting and value civil discussion, especially at this moment of robust national conversation on essential issues. But we will not tolerate on our site debate that devolves into racist hate speech or personal attacks. That may require us to turn off the comments on some stories.
What is the Commenting Policy?
The Press Democrat reserves the right to remove, block or refuse any comment for any reason. When posting to pressdemocrat.com, you agree to not provide comments that:
- are posted using the name of another person.
- contain vulgar, profane, abusive, racist or hateful language or expressions, epithets or slurs, text, photographs or illustrations in poor taste, inflammatory attacks of a personal, racial or religious nature.
- are defamatory, threatening, disparaging, grossly inflammatory, false, misleading, fraudulent, inaccurate, unfair, contains gross exaggeration or unsubstantiated claims, violate the privacy rights of any third party, are unreasonably harmful or offensive to any individual or community.
- discriminate on the grounds of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or refer to such matters in any manner prohibited by law.
- “flame” any individual or entity (e.g., sends repeated messages related to another user and/or make derogatory or offensive comments about another individual), or repeat prior posting of the same message under multiple threads or subjects.
- violate or encourage the violation of any municipal, state, federal or international law, rule, regulation or ordinance.
- advertise, promote or offer to trade any goods or services, except in areas specifically designated for such purpose.
- contain copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind without the express permission of the owner of that material.
- violate any right of pressdemocrat.com or any third party.
- upload or transmit viruses or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files, material or code.
Thank you for your interest in keeping our community safe
Comments are regularly monitored. If you see anything that you believe contravenes our guidelines/commenting policy/terms of use, please flag it. You must flag/report a comment before escalating. Note that comments that are flagged/reported are typically reviewed within less than 60 minutes and will only be removed if they are in violation of our stated guidelines. Repeated misuse of the flagged functionality for comments that do not violate our guidelines (including using multiple accounts to flag comments) may result in loss of commenting and/or flagged privileges. We invite you to test our mute and/or thumbs up/down features as alternative ways to customize your experience in our community.
We will make every effort to review your appeal and reverse decisions if appropriate but there will be times when the volume of appeals is higher than the resources we have available. We are unable to provide you with the status of your appeal or a rationale for a moderation decision.