Miami Herald circulation director working overtime to piss off paper's few remaining subscribers [UPDATED x1]

UPDATED x1 below.
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Here's the deal: You're the circulation director at the Miami Herald.

So, what's Job #1? Trying to get more people to subscribe to the paper and, retaining the loyal subscribers you already have...right?

And the best way to keep those paying subscribers fat and happy would be to treat them special and not send them annoying emails...right?

Well, check out this email forwarded to me today by a loyal, long-time Miami Herald subscriber.

Click to enlarge.

And here's a note the Herald subscriber sent to me explaining her reaction to the email:

I replied to email asking to receive the paper without the special section, and not to be charged the $1.25. We'll see what they say. Sure smacks of desperation, doesn't it? Charging for those ads in that Thanksgiving edition was madness (if I were a paying advertiser, I'd want to reach the largest possible audience, not a subset), and they didn't repeat it.

Now, charging for editorial coverage that would be the very reason you subscribe is more madness. To assume the whole readership is interested in football in exhaustive detail is some big assumption, isn't it? Can't wait for the Herald's online paywall sales pitch. By the way, I do pay for NYTimes online and it's well worth it.

Related post at JimRomenesko.com: We have your credit card number and we’ll charge you for whatever we want (and good luck trying to opt out!)
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UPDATE: Retired Miami Herald staff writer Marty Merzer has left this comment on Jim Romenesko's post:

"I spent 30 years as a proud employe of the Miami Herald, but the entity currently carrying that name is a different thing entirely. I know that some other papers have tried this scam recently, but it's difficult to see how it can be legal. At the very least, it unilaterally changes the nature of the contract between buyer and seller."