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Quandary

I’m in a quandary every time the quarterly bill for our local newspaper arrives.  

The Herald Palladium has shrunk in size and content for several years. But the annual subscription has stayed the same despite publishing five days a week instead of seven. Once a morning paper, it is now delivered in the afternoon by the mailman. And, the paper no longer prints at all on any day when mail is not delivered.

We could cancel. But I believe printed newspapers are important even in this day and age of instant communication. They bring a local focus to obituaries, high school sports, and various events sponsored by merchants, churches, and community leaders that one doesn’t get on the national news.

It isn’t just our local paper that’s struggling. It’s a broader issue. I read a report from the Brookings Institution that identified four factors that are contributing to this situation.

  1. Advertising revenues, which supported newspapers, have moved online.
  2. Since 1989, the number of journalists who work at U.S. newspapers has dropped 39 percent.
  3. Americans get their information from many other sources.
  4. With online and social media providing instant information, readers spend less time with print publications that are perceived to respond in a less timely manner.

It seems like a losing proposition, especially when this report from Brookings was first published – online – in 2014.  In the intervening decade, things have only gotten worse in my opinion.

I shake my head in dismay four times a year, but I’m still supporting The Herald Palladium.

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