It is no secret that traditional news outlets, including those dedicated to local coverage, are in trouble. So far many of their appeals for modest support are not working, and papers are closing down.
The factors leading to the demise of many of these papers are varied. Those that stay open and aggressively pursue their mission of providing local news are doing so under difficult circumstances. Some are going digital in haphazard ways, trying to take an old mission and present it in a new way. In doing so they are losing many in their older audience, a number of whom have no inclination to substitute that print copy for an electronic tablet.
Some papers, like the Herald, have struggled to maintain a free, advertiser-supported print edition while also building an online presence with coverage worthy of modest subscription pricing. Unfortunately some readers have seen the move as a “money grab,” not realizing that continuously dropping ad revenue makes other revenue sources a matter of existential reality for local papers.
Going the digital route is no guarantee of survival. Newspapers that have gone that route have found themselves in a highly competitive arena where size matters a great deal. Many local news outlets have merely delayed the inevitable. In 2023 more than two local papers closed their doors each week. Since 2005 the country has lost nearly 3,000 newspapers, many of them committed to local coverage.
A younger crowd of consumers, comfortable with the technology, has fewer traditional ties to journalism. News is increasingly something they can get through social media platforms, even though they have no idea what rules went into the creation of the “news” they are absorbing.
The problem is a serious one because once a paper dies, resurrecting it is a near-impossible task. These news outlets, be they in print or in digital format, are often the only organizations working hard to hold local government accountable. “News deserts” are expanding. What is sold as transparency in government is anything but that. It is not a time to go without reporters watching the actions of local officials. Yet that is the likely outcome in so many areas.
The Herald is working hard to devise a news strategy that both keeps alive the free print edition through advertising support while also developing a more detailed journalism, providing context and analysis for our readers on the topics most important to them.
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Your subscription is not merely a payment – it is a vote for truth, a stand for community oversight and a lifeline for the Herald’s mission to provide the in-depth reporting that binds our county together.
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We need support in that task. What we reference here are not two separate tasks but rather a strategy that provides our readers with a stronger newsroom capable of offsetting the pressures of declining revenue and meeting our obligations as the county’s premier local news outlet.
It seems clear that a modest subscription price will not be the reason for a lack of support. Readers have recognized our ability to go after stories most important to them. Yet this has not translated into financial support. Financial support may not be there because it simply isn’t seen as necessary. The commitment to maintain the print edition as part of the Herald’s two-pronged strategy may be convincing readers that nothing has changed.
They could not be more wrong. Ad revenues continue to be more and more challenging. The staff is stretched thin. Vulnerability increases.
The Herald remains committed to its mission of local coverage and local accountability in government. But we cannot do it alone. We need you to recognize the value of local coverage. Fair, objective, hardworking journalism does not come off social media platforms as a matter of course.
Give us one year. The financial burden is minimal. Help us build the online platform that compliments rather than duplicates the long-valued print edition of the Herald. Evaluate later the experience your subscription has brought you.
We will strive to make that product a better Herald aimed at providing you with the news, the insights and the analysis that will at times make a difference in how you view this wonderful county we all hold so dear.
Your subscription is not merely a payment – it is a vote for truth, a stand for community oversight and a lifeline for the Herald’s mission to provide the in-depth reporting that binds our county together.
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“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” — Hosea 4:6
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