If you’re a current print newspaper subscriber, you will be able to enjoy one inclusive print and digital subscription package that gives you access to our mobile, website and electronic replica of our print newspaper, including our smartphone and tablet apps. If you aren’t a current print subscriber, you’ll have the option of getting a digital-only package with access to all of our digital products.

As your news habits changed, our journalists changed with you. We’ve met you on social networks, live chats or one of our 14 blogs, from Murph’s Turf to Pets Unleashed, from Idaho Politics to What We See, from Bronco Beat to Words & Deeds. In a typical week, IdahoStatesman.com draws the largest audience of any news site in the Treasure Valley. We field the largest reporting team in the Valley. That reach of our print, web and mobile platforms, combined with the depth and experience of our reporting team, helps us bring more in-depth coverage to more people than anyone else in our region — in whatever format anyone wants.

Technology has not only changed the flow and form of news — how we share it with you and how you share it with each other. It has also reshaped the business model that pays for the journalism and the ways we publish it.

We join hundreds of news organizations across the country seeking the right business plan to afford readers quality news and information in the form they want it. We’re the last Idaho daily newspaper to charge for access to all of our platforms.

We can no longer expect advertising to support all these platforms or for print subscribers to shoulder all the burden. By asking the folks who get our news and information on digital platforms to help pay, we will be better able to support the staff that reports, writes, edits, designs and shoots the stories and photos that share our community’s most important news and information.

Print subscribers will continue to have free digital access until their current subscription renews. Regular digital readers who do not already subscribe will be asked to do so after viewing a set number of stories, depending on the type of device they are using.

This approach has a few different names: the metered system, the all-platform-access program, the digital subscription, but mostly folks just call it The Paywall. You will be able to see our home page and section fronts — like local news and sports — but the count begins when you call up the stories, blogs or photo galleries.

Being charged for something that you’ve gotten for free isn’t fun. But providing unlimited access across all platforms for a small amount makes good sense. It provides incredible flexibility for you — and enables us to provide quality local news and information, such as when:

• Micron CEO Steve Appleton died in a plane crash and we described the impact he had on his company, the community and his alma mater, Boise State University.

• Robert Manwill went missing and our in-depth reporting delved into the background of his mother and her boyfriend.

• The Ada County Commission quietly approved a trash-to-electricity plant at the landfill and we uncovered the documents that showed the company used county money for high-priced consultants and computers, not design work.

With Idaho Statesman Plus, you will be able to access content that is updated throughout the day and night. You will be able to see our videos, photo galleries, blogs and searchable databases, as well as make online comments and participate in live chats and forums.

I think it’s important to point out that our website is not our print newspaper online. It has all sorts of unique content and opportunities to interact with other users, our staff and our advertisers.

And our print newspaper is not our website in print. It is able to stop the world once each day and share with you what’s important, interesting or useful to know — including ads and coupons that save you money — in packages that give you a wealth of extra information.

People do use them differently, and we hope you’ll want to use them both, as well as our mobile and tablet apps.

We welcome your feedback on Idaho Statesman Plus. If you have questions or comments, drop me a note at mjung@idahostatesman.com Or contact our editor, Vicki Gowler, at vgowler@idahostatesman.com, our sales and marketing director , Travis Quast, at tquast@idahostatesman.com, or our circulation director, Frank Peak at fpeak@idahostatesman.com

We appreciate you reading the Idaho Statesman, whether you find us on newsprint, at IdahoStatesman.com, on our mobile site, smartphone apps or your tablet or with the electronic replica of our paper.

We’re headed into our 149th year as committed as ever to bringing you content that earns your trust and makes a difference in your life and in our community.

Michael Jung is president and publisher of the Idaho Statesman.