Rate increase needed to maintain strong local news coverage

Each week the Tribune Record Gleaner editorial board uses this space to address state, regional and local issues.

These are issues that impact the lives and wellbeing of our communities and of the people who live here. We take our role as a watchdog seriously. We have not shied away from bringing to light “without fear or favor” actions and individuals which work against the public interest.

A good watchdog is one that can tell difference between a squirrel running through the yard or leaves rustling in the wind and the intruder who would sneak in at night and do harm to you and your loved ones.

Most issues are far from being black and white or yes or no. Those who would narrow the world into the “us versus them” mentality do a disservice to themselves and their communities.

In covering the news of our communities, there is good and bad happening each week. Tragedies and triumphs share in the column inches. From the athletes competing at the highest levels of their sport to the tragic tales of those whose lives took rougher roads due to an accident, illness or poor choices. All are part of and impact the lives of people in our community.

The Tribune Record Gleaner is a family-owned newspaper. The owners and their family members live in the communities we serve and are active here, frequenting local stores and taking part in community events. Likewise, the newspaper’s staff live in and are active members of the community.

As the song goes, “the times, they are a-changin’.” Over the decades since it was founded, the Tribune Record Gleaner has taken seriously its role as a source of unity in the community. You, our readers, share a common bond that forms the bulwark of community. Strong communities are essential in protecting against those who would seek to profit from divisiveness either by lining their own pockets or seeking power for its own sake.

While the Tribune Record Gleaner has served, and will continue to serve, its readers and the community, it is also a business. Like any business, there are bills to pay for supplies, equipment, buildings and taxes. We struggle with the same challenges of finding quality workers and being able to retain them in a tight labor market. We face the same sorts of supply chain breakdowns as other businesses and tighten our belts as costs climb.

Community newspapers, such as the Tribune Record Gleaner have historically relied on advertising for the revenue needed to cover costs. For decades, the model has been to keep subscription rates as low as possible with advertising making up the difference.

Community newspapers remain an effective and important place for advertising products, services, events and activities. Numerous studies show consumers have a greater degree of trust in newspaper advertising versus online or other media. Other studies show newspaper advertising brings value and the ads are sought out versus other media where the ads are considered distracting or a nuisance.

While this is great, the economic reality is that in an increasingly fractured media marketplace, there are many places for businesses to invest their advertising and marketing dollars. Add to this the increasing consolidation of businesses and decision makers moving from the local level to regional or even national offices, and the importance and value of advertising in community newspapers can get lost.

Across the country, community newspapers have been forced through economic pressure to close their doors, creating news deserts where there is no one to keep an eye on the county board or city council, no one to tell the story of student athletes striving to be the best, and no one to record the celebrations, tragedies and individual triumphs that forge community bonds.

In light of industry-wide changes, this has required a shift in the business model of newspapers, away from heavy reliance on advertisers toward readers and subscribers picking up a larger share of the costs.

While community newspaper journalists view their profession as a calling, rather than simply the source of a paycheck, our staff and their families are dealing with inflation, healthcare costs and other expenses like any others. It is the lament of any small business that the costs always seem to go up much faster that the revenues. Like any business, we must balance those costs.

On July 1, you will see the cover price of the Tribune Record Gleaner go up. Subscription rates will also be going up, in large part due to continued hikes in postage rates as the Postal Service puts its priority on serving online retailers rather than local service.

Prices go up. It is a reality of the world we live in. Most times businesses never offer explanation or apologies for the increases. Things just cost more.

We offer this explanation, not as an appeal to charity or for any sense of guilt, but through the level of openness and dialogue we would expect from any institution we cover. We hold ourselves to that higher standard of transparency.

We believe the Tribune Record Gleaner brings value to our communities and to the lives of our readers. We believe in the importance of a free and independent press and of the obligation to bring unbiased coverage of events and people in our communities. We believe in the importance of reporting on the happenings of our towns, villages, cities, counties and school boards to ensure there continues to be an informed electorate.

We believe in the continued relevance of community newspapers.

We believe you, our readers, do too. All good editorials include a call to action. The call to action for this one, is to subscribe to your local community newspaper or buy a subscription for a friend.

Above all else, we ask that you continue being a reader and a part of our community.

The Tribune Record Gleaner editorial board consists of publisher Kris O’Leary and Star News editor Brian Wilson.