The Colebrook, N.H., News and Sentinel published its final issue August 28. Colebrook, near the border between Vermont and New Hampshire’s least populous counties, depended on “The North Country’s Hometown Paper” for 154 years.
In that final issue, the publisher wrote, “the past several years of declining advertising revenues and readership numbers have taken their toll.”
Every time I read about a local newspaper coming to an end, I fear first for The Hardwick Gazette. I then think of the people who have been reading that failed paper and wonder why readership has been dropping off, which is almost certainly a big reason for advertising revenue to fall.
That thought brings me back to the Gazette, our readers and our advertisers. Some said it was a mistake to drop our subscription price to zero in January when we became nonprofit. Our reasoning was simple, paid subscribers were down to about 400. About the same amount were getting the digital paper free.
We hoped that free subscriptions would increase the number of readers and bring in more advertisers. To some extent that has worked and our being here nine months later is a testament to those who advertise with, write, send photos and produce The Gazette.
Donations in the first month of this year were encouraging and led us to believe the new structure could be successful. We’ve had grants from several organizations that have helped too, but donations have dropped off in recent months, except for a welcome increase when we announced we’d received our IRS 501(c)(3) designation a month and a half ago.
Our weekly newsletter now gets sent to 1,650 each week and is opened by roughly 1,200 of them. About 750 of them click to visit our website. On an average week another 1,250 go directly to the website and read the PDF copy or an article or two.
That’s all to say, with an annual budget of $120,000, it’s costing us about $60 a year, or just under $1.25 to get each issue to you.
As a community-owned, nonprofit publication, we think it’s critically important that everyone be able to read what’s in the paper. That’s most true for those who couldn’t afford the paper when the choice is between that and feeding their families. Being able to learn about job listings, educational opportunities and other helpful activities could make a difference in their lives.
Please consider making a donation when you get our newsletter or visit our website. Sending $50, $60, or even more if you can to cover a bit of the cost for others who can’t afford it, will make a difference. Setting up a $5 monthly donation, or more, is easy.
Beginning this week we’ll send you a magnetic euro-style emblem to display on your car or fridge as a thank-you gift if you include your mailing address with your contribution.
Paul Fixx, editor
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
