Journal Star vs KSNB Local4
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Journal Star
Access in-depth local news, sports, and weather for Lincoln, Nebraska. Enjoy exclusive commentary, photography, and podcasts. Personalize your news feed and receive breaking alerts.
- Personalized news feed
- Breaking news alerts
- Exclusive commentary and podcasts
- Video updates
- Bookmark stories
- Listen to articles
- Customizable text size
Read full descriptionHide full description
Your story lives in Lincoln. Get in-depth stories from Lincoln, Nebraska's No. 1 news outlet – including breaking news sports, opinion, obituaries, entertainment, and politics. From reporting on the Huskers to the news that matters most in your community, the state and beyond, we cover it all. Easily access the very latest news in an app built for you. Read, see, and hear exclusive commentary, stunning photography, video updates, and binge-worthy podcasts. Support local journalism by subscribing today for unlimited digital access. Our app features: * Your Stories – personalize your experience by selecting the local news topics that matter most to you * Get notified – stay in the loop by selecting alerts for news, sports, weather, and more * Easy navigation – see all the latest local stories by simply swiping up/down, and left/right * Read stories your way – either in the News Feed or via the E-edition * Breaking news updates – top banners let you know what’s happening right now * Continue watching – pause a video and pick up where you left off across devices * Bookmark for later – save stories to enjoy at your leisure * Listen to articles – press the play button to listen instead * Customize your text size – make the content bigger or smaller in your profile settings * Weather where you are – hourly, 10-day forecasts, and frequent video updates Free to download. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to breaking news updates, analysis, and more. Get the Lincoln Journal Star in Your Inbox Get convenient, curated updates delivered to your Inbox. Sign up for Breaking News updates as they happen, the Afternoon Update for a roundup of the latest local top stories, Local Sports for the latest sports headlines, Food & Drink for foodies, Garage Sales for bargain hunters and many more. Visit https://journalstar.com/newsletters/ to view and subscribe to all of The Lincoln Journal Star Newsletters. Keep Up with The Lincoln Journal Star Follow us on Facebook and other social platforms: https://x.com/JournalStarNews https://www.pinterest.com/ljsfeatures/ https://www.instagram.com/journalstarnews/ https://www.facebook.com/LincolnJournalStar/ https://www.youtube.com/user/JournalStarNews https://www.linkedin.com/company/lincoln-journal-star/ About The Lincoln Journal Star The Lincoln Journal Star is the premier news and information source in Southeast Nebraska covering local news, government, sports and events on https://journalstar.com/. Along with the area’s leading daily newspaper and website, we publish several niche publications and provide full service digital advertising services. We'd love to hear what you think! For any technical issues or questions, contact us at appsupport@lee.net https://journalstar.com/terms The Lincoln Journal Star is part of Lee Enterprises.
KSNB Local4
Stay informed with breaking news and top local stories from Central Nebraska. Stream live broadcasts from the Local4 News Team and catch up on sports highlights and scores.
- Breaking news alerts
- Top local stories
- Live news broadcasts
- Sports highlights
- Game scores
Read full descriptionHide full description
Get the latest breaking news alerts and top local stories from Central Nebraska. Watch your Local4 News Team live. Catch highlights and scores from your favorite teams.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: KSNB Local4 at 60% against Journal Star's 4%. KSNB Local4 also leads on rating (3.8 vs 2.7) and in-app purchases (none vs 7). Journal Star's advantage is ratings volume (311 vs 22) and chart position (#186 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Journal Star sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per month. KSNB Local4 asks for nothing beyond the download.
KSNB Local4 holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Journal Star has 311 ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 4% of Journal Star's written reviews are positive against 60% of KSNB Local4's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Journal Star | KSNB Local4 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (311 ratings) | 3.8 (22 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 4.0% of reviews | 60.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 311 — better | 22 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Best chart rank | #186 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 103 MB | 81 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Lee Enterprises | Gray Television Group, Inc. |
Customer experience
Journal Star
KSNB Local4
Bugs and requests
Journal Star
Reported bugs
16 issues- App crashes on launch or during use
- Articles fail to load or display blank/white screens
- Black screen pop-ups that cannot be closed
- Login credentials not saved; constant re-authentication required
- App stops loading pages in e-edition after some time
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Subscription verification failures despite active subscription
- Articles not refreshing or updating
- Links to articles not working properly
- App incompatible with iPad landscape orientation
- App incompatible with iOS 14+ versions
- Random podcast audio playing in background
- Pages jumping around while reading
- Ads hijacking navigation to revenue pages
- E-edition content not displaying correctly
- Inconsistent menu states between old and new versions
- App freezing or becoming unresponsive
Requested features
10 requests- Landscape mode support for tablets
- Improved search functionality
- Better content organization and categorization
- Free or lower-cost subscription tier
- Removal or reduction of ads for paid subscribers
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Consistent and intuitive menu design
- Better local news prioritization in feed
- Improved article loading reliability
- Better support for older iOS versions
- Ability to store sign-in information
KSNB Local4
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Journal Star
- Subscriptions$29.991 Month
- Subscriptions$42.991 Month
- Subscriptions$44.991 Month
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Subscriptions$50.001 Year
- Subscriptions$289.991 Year
- Subscriptions$344.991 Year
- Subscriptions$379.991 Year
KSNB Local4
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Journal Star free?
Is KSNB Local4 free?
Which has better reviews, Journal Star or KSNB Local4?
Do Journal Star or KSNB Local4 have ads?
Which is updated more often, Journal Star or KSNB Local4?
Other comparisons
