The Spokesman Review Reviews

by Katez321

I’m paying for a yearly subscription to the e-edition and I resent the ads all over the screen when I’m trying to read the paper on my tablet. They take over most of the screen, waste my data usage, and are very distracting. If the content was free it would be different. The old app was so much better. Seriously, this is NOT a way to keep/gain subscribers.

by DxXXXcvnw

I didn’t receive any notice there was a new app. Just couldn’t get any new editions. Tried to read todays paper but it is not possible to do on iPad.

Click an article that continues on another page and you can only read the current page. Trying to click the article on the continuing page and it won’t open.

The size of the print is like trying to read the paper from 10 feet away. Terrible update that will not allow me to read the paper. The old app was easy to use and more importantly you could actually select an article and read the whole article.

I will be canceling my subscription again. First it was the price. Then a reasonable e edition only price was offered so I tried it. Was a 40 year reader but now I am an inlander reader.

by Mr Pennyweight

App doesn’t allow me to download daily editions on my iPad. At first, I could turn the iPad completely off then turn it back on and then down load a current edition. I could also remove TheSpokesmanReview completely then restore it and then download. But now neither of these two work arounds work. But for some reason I can download daily editions on my wife’s old iPad (so old that it can no longer be updated with the latest versions). I don’t know how much they paid for this new app version but whatever it was it was too much.

by Schifferj

My biggest problem with TheSpokesmanReview is that half the time when I click on an article the reader friendly version won’t open. I then revert to opening the e edition from an email. I’ve already cut back my delivery from 6 days per week to four. If TheSpokesmanReview doesn’t improve and improve soon I’ll no longer be a subscriber to the SR and that will be the first time in 55 years that I’m not subscribed to the local paper.

FWIW I received an email from the SR on 8/1/23 advising me to download the “NEW 2023 Spokesman Review app” today. Clicked the link and it brought me to this same poor app! Come on guys get it together.

by Frustrated And Paperless

Since this new format/program was foisted on us customers, I have been unable to download any daily edition without deleting TheSpokesmanReview and reloading it. Navigation is worthless in getting through each edition. Even a phone call for help,failed as the “helper” was new to the system and couldn’t get it to work!

by Kmrbrown

Four days a week I receive the printed newspaper. The remainder of the time I read the electronic edition. TheSpokesmanReview goes from bad to worse every time I use it. Way too often individual articles cannot be opened, requiring that the whole page be zoomed, and a continuation of the article must be chased from page to page. If an individual article can actually be opened, it requires scrolling all the way up to the top of the article to return to the newspaper page. Using the website is way more user friendly.

by Parsley56sage

I sure hope this is a beta version, because it’s so buggy. Every day it seems like a different app. I prefer the print edition mode. At first it was great. Then images wouldn’t load. Then Individual articles wouldn’t load, you had to zoom the entire page. Then it would just close suddenly. I use it on an IPad. Why didn’t the SR just buy the Washington Post app, which works great in print mode. Now that SR is doubling the cost of a digital subscription, I’ll probably quit subscribing, it’s just not worth the hassle.

by Rosemary Margaret

I’d been using the previous app, the one with the blue “e” and it worked just fine. Suddenly I could no longer get the daily editions, so I decided to delete TheSpokesmanReview and reload it. Imagine my surprise when I found the old app no longer existed. I downloaded the new app and have had nothing but problems. It would have been nice to have been notified that the old app no longer worked and we needed to download the new one. Needless to say, I won’t be subscribing to your paper in the future. TheSpokesmanReview is terrible.

by Squinting In Idaho

The Spokesman recently discontinued home delivery in our area, I have been using TheSpokesmanReview frequently the last couple of years now it is my only option. I have been a subscriber for 40 years, but don’t anticipate being a subscriber for much longer. The new app is hard to use the small print requires you to zoom each page as you scroll through. The old app was user friendly as far as I’m concerned. The new app is a justification for an app developer. I foresee a switch to the CDA Press in my future.

by Troutfisher5

I can’t understand the reason or concept of changing to this”new” app for the Spokesman Review. It’s functionality is clumsy and counterintuitive. At first I could tap on an article and get a reader view, then it started sending me to totally unrelated articles. Now I can only zoom and read which is not a great option. Why the Review would change to TheSpokesmanReview is beyond me, especially without notice! Get with it SR!

by 25KTI

This replacement for the old E addition is poorly adapted for tablet use. With the old addition I read the paper in split screen mode with a full page of the paper displayed to the left and the selected feature scrolling on the right. The old split screen is gone forcing text to scroll the full width of the screen.
This may work on a 3” wide phone but is very tedious on an 8” wide tablet. Most customizing features are gone. All efforts to contact the Spokesman Review (contact us) go unanswered.

by Carly (5)

I just can’t…. If I could give fewer stars, I would. I’d had a subscription for decades. First home delivery became spotty, then they raised the price so high I couldn’t afford it. So I moved to electronic and they tanked TheSpokesmanReview with an update they kept a secret. After discovering the new app, it’s glitchy - failing to work on a weekly basis. When notified, they ignored the problem. Then they doubled the price for e-subscribers. So to recap: unreliable delivery, terrible service for twice the cost. After decades of taking the paper I had to cancel.

by OntheOtherHand

TheSpokesmanReview is slow and difficult to use. Selecting an article to read brings up a weird double spaced text in long lines spread across the entire screen with some one and two word lines. It often takes two or three touches to the screen to bring up the bottom menu bar. The list of slow and clumsy interface problems is longer than I care to write.

by @$&#!

The new app is glitchy on my iPad, also not mentioned in other reviews, the subscription price went up. Not happy with the new app. I can get news elsewhere. I attempted to cancel my subscription online, good luck with that! No option to cancel after having to go through a survey and submit an account number, email address, phone number. Had to call SR and cancel after a 20 minute hold.

by Sundowndrive

We have had nothing but problems with the new app not updating to the next day. It is much harder to navigate through especially for someone 80 years old.

by CiinemaMan

The old app was easier to use and gave you on-line puzzles each day. This version will take a long time to learn and as the readers get older they become frustrated. Bring back the old version. Also it would have been nice to tell your readers about the change BEFORE you made it!

by Spokanman

I was not aware that the old app was going away. I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t download the 1/10 & 1/11 editions. Finally poked around enough for the light to go on. We’re we informed of the change? I don’t recall it.

Anyway, I thought the old app was awful. This one is acceptable. At least so far.

by Sqwaaaaaaaak

First use of the new app was on an iPad. Not impressed. Difficult to navigate and loaded with annoyingly distracting ad banners.

Just tried it on the phone. Much better UI and smoother article selection and readability. So 3 stars for being decent on the phone but terrible on the tablet.

by AHMcCoy

Please get rid of the google ads at the top and the bottom of the screen. Those ads cover up the navigation buttons. It is frustrating. Those ads asking to activate do nothing. Activation itself should get rid of the ads but it doesn’t. The other ad about needing carriers should go away too when you activate your account. We are long time (40 years) subscribers. Please fix this.

by Makismom

While reading the Spokesman on my iPad is fine (it’s not a super smooth experience, but it’s not terrible), I really wish I could manage my account from TheSpokesmanReview . It would be nice to report when papers aren’t delivered or place a vacation hold via TheSpokesmanReview instead of in two separate places.

by Liveitupyall

Took me a week to find the time to research why the old app wasn’t working. Now that I have the new app I find it much more user-friendly. While it doesn’t “look” like a print newspaper, it’s easier to navigate, less glitchy, and just smoother overall than the old app. And there’s always the web-based e-edition if I want a different way to navigate. Great upgrade!!

by Vintagedad

The new app is like all other papers now. Like the washington Post, New York Times and the Guardian. Much easier to read now

by Aliceheartszombies

TheSpokesmanReview isn’t perfect, but it’s great to have a local news app and I highly recommend that people in the Spokane area support the local paper.