National Newspaper Week

Dear Readers, 

     If you are a member of the newspaper industry, this week, National Newspaper Week, is one week that makes you stop and hope that readers truly appreciate what you do for a living. 

     Since I began my career in 1994, the way we write, report and deliver the news has changed drastically. Many newspapers have dropped their delivery of a daily newspaper to a weekly newspaper for various reasons. Production costs and staffing shortages are amongst the highest obstacles faced today. 

    Those reasons, paired with the introduction of social media and other news various platforms that report in real time, are also reasons for the dwindling community newspapers over the years. 

    Unfortunately, it has also caused some areas to become news deserts; meaning there are no community newspapers  to report the local news.  

     Does this mean local newspapers are not as important as they once were? Heck no! It means that the support for the local newspaper wasn’t sustainable for the economy it faced. 

      When was the last time you picked up a national newspaper and saw the story about your next door neighbor who won an award for their accomplishments. Yes,  you can see items like these in snippets in various places, but to actually cut it out and have a keepsake from a post or feed is nearly impossible. But you can do it with a newspaper.  You can actually cut it out and save it for graduation memories or those scrapbooks that people enjoy looking at in years to come. 

    If given the opportunity to work in a fast-paced national newspaper versus a small town local newspaper, I’m picking small town everyday all day! Why because of the readers and the stories that you cover. You have a much bigger and better connection to the community by reporting on their friends and neighbors. In a big city, you may not have any idea on the person you are interviewing. 

     Getting the national news is still important but seeing your grandkid in the local newspaper is so much more rewarding and you cannot find that in many places but your community newspaper. 

     Since I came last November, I have been challenged with not necessarily changing the newspaper per se but enhancing it to be a better product all around.    

     Many people have noticed the numerous changes and have given us feedback. Mostly good and encouraging comments on our improved content or new layout and design of the paper. But we know we .do occasionally get it wrong and we have heard about that too. We don’t mind hearing the feedback, good or bad, as it reminds us that you are still reading the newspaper and want us to either do better or to keep up the good work. For that we thank each and everyone of you.

     Let’s change gears a moment and talk about the revenue side of the business. When it comes to advertisers, we have some of the best I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. 

   I was in Indiana from 1994-2023 at my hometown newspaper. Then I moved to Montana, transferring to Kansas and finally transplanting to the Lone Star State late last year.  The amount of advertising support for the Lockhart Post-Register shines brighter than any other newspaper I have been at before. The local advertisers get it! If there is no newspaper, how will they convey their message. Yes, those same avenues of relaying the news also allow for their advertising messages to reach their customers, well some of their customers.  

    Some people believe print is dead and the only form of communicating is digitally. I disagree but if something works for you then by all means do it.  Having observed the climate change of newspaper advertising for over 30 years,  one conclusion I have drawn is that never put all your eggs in one basket.  

     Depending on the message, the way you advertise changes. Depending on the audience you are trying to reach, the way you advertise changes.  No matter your message or audience the importance of advertising remains. 

     For some audiences, most definitely the younger crowd, QR codes and social media are routes that many choose. But ask yourself does your parents or grandparents know how to use those methods? If not then newspaper advertising may be a better option. Divide it up and make sure you are hitting the whole market.

     Recently we had a home school group tour the newspaper office. Up until the week before many of them had never held a newspaper. They had never felt what it’s like to hold the whole world’s news, ok maybe just Caldwell County news, in their hands to learn from. This is a factor that needs to be improved. How to do that is simple, bring the readers a product that they cannot wait to pick up and see what happened or what is coming up on the horizon that they want to attend. This is what we strive to do weekly.  

      Jokingly, I told Dana Garrett, owner of the LPR,  that I was going to do something to promote the impact of not having any local news by leaving the front page of the Post-Register blank today with only the words, “This is what you would be reading if there was no longer a local newspaper in Lockhart.” Yes, I did get the look of huh? But he had saw the practice done before and knew exactly what I was talking about. The veteran newsies get this, but the readers not so much. 

      I did not pull the little stunt, but just stop and think about this for a minute. What would it be like to hold this newspaper and all the pages were blank. I can tell you what it would be like, you will be doing what other newspaper desert communities are doing, looking for a place to find local news that affects you and your family. Where would you look?

     Myself and the staff at LPR are humbled that we have the immense support from our readers and advertisers and are thankful for you every week we publish. 

Thank you,