The Peru Gazette

Press Republican Editorial of April 20, 2019

VIEWPOINT
Imagine no daily newspaper

With great dismay we got the news — Northern New York Newspaper Corp. and its Watertown Daily Times couldn’t make payroll.

It was the first time ever and it was a matter of timing, Watertown Times Managing Editor Alec Johnson told us. Not enough revenue from advertising and subscribers had come in soon enough, so paychecks had to be delayed.

Just one day, he said.

But revenues, from subscriptions and advertising, declined dramatically the first quarter of the year, CEO and Co-Publisher John B. Johnson said.

But such an eventuality is one many, many newspapers have come to face in recent years.

In part, a decline in print advertising is not quickly enough being offset by revenues from digital advertising.

As well, Alec wrote in an eloquent editorial about the shortfall and its larger implications in the world of journalism, there’s a perception by the public that newspapers are hale and hearty.

A recent Pew Research Center study, he wrote, “found a startling number of Americans believe local newspapers are in good financial shape.”

Yet, he said, “the past decade has been the worst on record for newspapers covering communities throughout the country, including here in northern New York.”

That study says 71 percent of respondents had that glowing perception of newspapers’ financial health, while just 14 percent had directly paid for a local news service.

There’s a true disconnect there.

And Pew Executive Director Amy Mitchell said, as she shared the survey results, attempts by the industry to educate consumers have been largely unsuccessful.

“We as an industry are largely to blame for that misperception,” Alec wrote, “because we follow our mission to inform our readers seriously, without complains about meager wages along the line, from reporting, to printing, publishing and distributing the news, and in the face of financial adversity.”

We digested Alec’s words, nodding our heads in agreement. And we wondered how people would feel if their daily paper went away.

We know the Watertown Daily Times well; in fact, for a few years now, our paper and theirs has been part of a coalition sharing coverage of the very large 21st Congressional District.

Our North Country papers share other news and sports stories, too. In the interest of giving all of our readers the best possible coverage, we set aside the traditional competitiveness one newspaper has for another and have worked collaboratively.

It’s been a terrific experience; our reporters and theirs, our editors and theirs, share a true comradeship in our pursuit of a common goal.

To cover the news.

The Watertown Times does what we do: report breaking news, including fires and crime; follow unfolding stories; write features that capture North Country life at its finest, arts, health, faith and more; cover business, politics and any other news of importance to the region. And local sports!

Then there are events calendars, birth announcements, honor rolls, police reports. Photos of the senior play, your grandson’s kindergarten graduation, the play at home that sees the underdog win the game.

It would all be gone.

In Watertown, Alec said, they are working to redefine the business of journalism.

They must, he said, “re-evaluate all we do and focus on areas that are self-sustaining.”

They shouldn’t have to go it alone.

When an advertiser buys space in a newspaper, the benefit is two-fold. Yes, it promotes whatever information the buyer wants to get out there.

But it also helps assure that the paper will be there to be a vehicle for that ad.

As Northern New York Newspapers work to right the ship, the big beneficiaries of a lot of past news coverage could lend a hand.

Hospitals, colleges, major industries, nursing homes …
Buy some ad space.

Think of how businesses and organizations support public television and radio. They buy ad space.

Locals, buy subscriptions. Support your paper’s survival.

“The time is now,” Alec told us. “They can’t be putting it off.

“Papers all across the country are fading away.”