A funny thing happens when people make less money, they cut down on what they deem unnecessary. Seems advertising is unnecessary to many people. Our papers are certainly suffering the current recession. There’s no telling how bad it will get a this point, but the current owner has been through the 80’s with two of the papers, so there’s reason to believe, strongly, that things will be alright. In the meantime, what it means for the people is another story altogether.
My boss still seems dedicated to developing a new website even with the economy the way it is. I thank my lucky stars for that, because if he were to try and mothball the project I’m not sure how long I’d stick around. I mean, I would continue to write for the paper, but creating a coherent and effective Internet business model is so important to small newspapers.
We are the arbiters of information for our communities. We compete with the occasional story in the county seat publication and individual organizations’ newsletters. That’s not much. In the meantime we have to find an effective way to get information to people so they can participate in their government and their communities. Hold on one sec while I get up on my soap box … There we go.
Surely we’re not the only ones who keep people informed. I come across many people who say they don’t read the paper. But for those who do and those who participate actively in the community, we are a touchstone. We have to find a way to do the same thing while taking advantage of the rich data storage ability of the Internet. That’s what I see.
