Stormy seas ahead

When you spend more than three decades working for the same newspaper, there are many memories made in that timespan. While it may not have been my chosen career, I am grateful for the path I’ve been given here at the News Letter Journal. I love this newspaper and the opportunity to serve our community every week. 

I’ve seen this newspaper go through many changes, and it continues to do so. I’m sure you have noticed these changes as well: reduced staff, reduced hours of operation, and reduced services. We no longer carry office supplies, as it simply was no longer profitable. We are still trying to accommodate our customers after hours and have installed a lock box for payments and other notices on the front of our building. For those of you who stop in for old newspapers for a variety of reasons, we also have a newspaper dispenser outside stocked with bundles of them  so you can serve yourself.

There have been many articles on newspaper closures across the country leaving news deserts in communities across the nation. Wyoming also recently faced the closure of nine newspapers, and this newspaper’s owner Robb Hicks teamed up with his wife, Jen, and publisher Rob Mortimore to purchase these newspapers in the 11th  hour, saving them from closure.

What most people do not realize about the newspaper industry is that the money you pay to purchase a newspaper never covers staff salaries, or keeps the lights or heat on — it doesn’t even cover the cost to print and mail the newspapers. The News Letter Journal’s modest cost of $1 barely made a dent in the overall budget.

It is the advertising within the pages of the newspaper that  has kept us paid, our lights on and our doors open for business. 

While the advancement in technology, mainly the internet, has streamlined some parts of our business, it has also been a main reason for the decline in advertising throughout the pages of our paper. Remember when you used to see car dealerships and restaurants advertising regularly? Businesses must now utilize all forms of media to reach their customers. We are extremely grateful for all our advertisers and firmly believe in our product and the reach it has both in print and for our online followers on newslj.com.

However, there has also been a steady decline in the number of businesses in our community. Some have closed their doors and remain empty, while other business owners are nearing retirement, which has in turn affected our business.  

Recently our readers have expressed how much they like having a printed newspaper and they hope that it will continue. We want to keep producing a printed newspaper as well, but to do this we need more financial help from
our readers. 

To that end, the price of the newspaper will increase to $3 per issue on March 19. We understand this may be a hardship for some readers, and will do our best to accommodate a subscription payment plan, if needed.

When I started working here in 1993, the price of the NLJ was 75 cents and in 2007 it increased to $1 per issue and has remained there for years, despite increases in cost of literally everything required to do business. Our management has kept the subscription prices low when in reality we should have made gradual increases throughout the last 10 years. Now, we are forced to implement a significant increase all at once, and we don’t take this lightly.

Managing a small weekly newspaper in these times can seem a bit like steering a ship through stormy seas. I am thankful to have a small, but mighty, crew keeping us afloat every week. A crew that helps one another get a top-notch product to the press on time and to your mailbox and stores every week. 

I am thankful to be part of this community that I’ve seen rally around others in times of need. I’ve seen many acts of kindness and generosity, and heard about many others who wish to remain silent for their deeds. 

I’m thankful to this community for sharing your advertising and stories with this newspaper. You are the reason the News Letter Journal brings home so many awards at the state and national level. We understand — and hope you do as well — the importance of being able to present news on the local level: to explain government actions, to highlight the good deeds of neighbors, to bring you local sports action, and so much more. 

We couldn’t make a newspaper every week without you, and while I see stormy seas ahead, somehow I think we will make it through this storm together and be
even stronger.