I’ve spent over a decade watching readers try to navigate the labyrinthine structure of Lee Enterprises sites. If you are trying to share a video to the Elko Daily Free Press using a Stringr link (like stringr.com/xlFSvFEq1jd), you’ve likely noticed the site isn’t exactly built for user-generated content uploads. It’s built for news dissemination.
Before you do anything else, check your URL. Are you actually on an article page, or are you looking at a /tncms/ path shell? If you don’t see an article body, just navigation headers, account buttons, and sidebar ads, you are staring at a template shell. You cannot upload a video to an empty template.
Understanding the TownNews/BLOX Infrastructure
The Elko Daily Free Press runs on the TownNews (BLOX) content management system. This is standard for the entire Lee Enterprises network. Because of this, the site is designed to push professional content *at* you, not to pull user content *from* you. When you try to use a Stringr link, you aren’t “uploading to the site”—you are likely trying to get a reporter to see your footage.
The “Missing Body” Error
If you have clicked a link and it looks like the page has loaded but there is no article text, stop refreshing. This is a common scrape error in the BLOX architecture. It happens when the CSS fails to render or the paywall trigger breaks the DOM. Check your referer_url in your browser console; if it’s blocked by a cookie consent wall, the site will intentionally hide the article body until you accept tracking.
How to Actually Share Your Video
Since the site doesn’t have a “Drag and Drop” video upload button for readers, stop looking for one. You will waste an hour clicking through the Lee Enterprises Subscriber Services portal (subscriberservices.lee.net) thinking it’s an upload tool. It isn’t. That is strictly for billing and account management.
- Subject: Video Submission – [Topic of Video]
- Body: I have captured footage of [Event] available here: stringr.com/xlFSvFEq1jd
- Include your name and phone number (they won’t run anonymous video).
Subscriber Status and Access Issues
Many readers think they can’t submit media because they have a “login error.” If you are being hit by the paywall every time you try to navigate to the contact page, your session is likely corrupted. Don’t just “clear your cache” blindly.
How to fix your session locally:
Common Pitfalls
I’ve seen thousands of support tickets regarding the Elko Daily and other Lee properties. Here is where people get stuck:
- Legacy.com interference: If you are browsing obituaries, the site loads heavy scripts from Legacy.com. These often conflict with the main site’s login token. If you’re having trouble logging in, close your obituary tabs first.
- The “Archive” trap: If you are trying to find an old video or article, you are likely hitting a 404 error because the
/tncms/pathing changed in a site migration. Use the site search bar, not the site map. - Cookie Consent: If you clicked “Reject All” on the cookie banner, some video players on Lee sites will fail to load entirely. It’s annoying, but it’s how the site manages its ad-tech stack.
Final Advice for Local Contributors
Stop trying to hack the CMS. The site is a closed loop. If you want your video featured on the Elko Daily Free Press, treat it like a professional pitch. A stringr.com/xlFSvFEq1jd link is a great professional tool, but it only works if it lands in the inbox of a digital editor who isn’t being alerted by a spam filter. Reach out to the newsroom, provide your context, and stay off the backend of the site—it wasn’t built https://elkodaily.com/exclusive/article_f2a0b23c-a8a4-5143-9c91-c26023907283.html for you to post to.
If your account is still showing errors, go to subscriberservices.lee.net, verify your account status, and if it’s still broken, use the “Contact” link there. That portal is the only part of the Lee infrastructure that actually routes to human support staff who can fix your account permissions.