We’ve updated you several times since purchasing the paper in March 2019 in terms of our near- and long-term strategies. I always step gingerly into this topic; it’s hard to gauge how much “inside baseball” information our readers want. We’ll always err on the side of transparency, especially with people so vital to our business.
So, here is where we stand today.
The business landscape is no less nor more rocky for us than most small-business owners. We’re all figuring and refiguring our business models, using pencils instead of pens in these most uncertain times.
Community newspapers are having a hard time across the country. We’re an “event-based” business, and absolutely everything is a “tough ticket.” The toughest of tickets; they literally don’t exist. High school and recreational sports, dozens of seasonal festivals and big events such as the annual Oregon Country Fair, holiday celebrations, the dining and entertainment scene … all essentially in suspended animation.
We don’t need to belabor any specific point. Your business, your cousin’s business, your neighbor’s business, your favorite restaurant’s business … you know. These are hard times.
Yet we soldier on, through thick and thin. The Chronicle is no different from everyone else struggling.
You already have supported us through a fundraising drive in the early days of the pandemic, when our financial footing was uncertain. We need your support again, in a different way.
First, even though it feels like we’re building on shifting sand, it’s important for you to know how we plan to continue growing.
Like so many others, we’ve adjusted our financial model – first in an effort to survive immediately, and now in an effort to sustain our business for the long haul.
The Chronicle is, in fact, many businesses – far from the quaint notion of a “weekly newspaper.” The Chronicle drives businesses across several “platforms,” utilizing multiple media formats. Yes, we have the weekly newspaper, printed each Tuesday evening and delivered to most mailboxes by Thursday.
We also publish Emerald Valley Magazine, although it is on hiatus until the market and local small businesses are strong enough to support its award-winning content and design again. We are eager for its return and we know how much you value our high-quality lifestyle magazine that features the people of the southern Willamette Valley.
We launched chronicle1909.com on April 1 this year in an effort to better serve our community – making that investment in the earliest days of the pandemic. We had to ensure that even if the printed paper could not be delivered – because of potential issues with our printer or the U.S. Postal Service – we still could deliver the news electronically.
That required investing more resources to report and write on COVID-19, and making all of that content free online. We’re not heroes for that decision; most credible newspapers in the country made the same call. The moral imperative to do so was obvious; the balance sheet begged to differ.
Our coverage increased, our costs went up, and our revenues went down.
The bottom line: We remained committed to serving you. We are swimming hard against the tide that is swamping our industry, drowning small papers all over the country.
At the same time, our website and our social media pages have been growing in reach and engagement since our April relaunch.
Among the important stories we’re providing 24/7 on our website:
— The most thorough and complete coverage of SLCF&R Chief John Wooten and the board’s decision to reinstate him. And the continuing fallout.
— Graduation coverage that included EIGHT area schools and nearly 1,000 senior portraits. Your kids, grandkids, cousins, neighbors, students. That’s hyper-local.
— Breaking news stories and context related to Creswell’s annual Fourth of July celebration, its Chamber of Commerce and community actions.
All of that takes people and money.
We are emerging now from the past few months and it’s become clearer how we need to operate to remain in business. Here is the cost structure for our products, effective immediately:
Subscriptions to the weekly newspaper will remain as follow:
— $40, annually within Lane County ($35 for 62+)
— $70, two years, within Lane County ($55 for 62+)
— $60 annually outside Lane County
ONLINE subscriptions to chronicle1909.com:
— $6 per month
— $66 annually
Note: As of July 2, anyone with a print subscription will continue to have access to chronicle1909.com for one year.
We’re working on a combination print/online subscription offer, to make it easier for you to enjoy both products. Keep in mind our website is more than just a regurgitation of the weekly print paper. It has breaking news updates all week.
We also have exciting news to report on our ability to serve the entire southern Willamette Valley: On Aug. 1, we’re opening a small office one block off Main Street in Springfield’s Historic Downtown.
We’ll be within walking distance of City Hall, Springfield Public Schools headquarters, the police station, library, post office and museum, to name a few of our new neighbors.
This is an important step in our growth, and positions us to deliver the kind of unique-and-differentiating, hyper-local news that people in our communities need and deserve. Everyone should have access to news and information that is delivered factually, right down the middle and in a timely fashion.
We deliver compelling storytelling that you won’t find elsewhere – amplifying positive life experiences of your family, friends and neighbors. Our top commitment remains coverage of education, something that touches every aspect of our small and rural towns.
We’re in this together, folks.
We count on your support and your active participation in making our community better. We’re partners, supporting the people, local businesses and values in our towns. Our hope is that a robust, free and respectful exchange of ideas – iron sharpening iron – is in our collective best interest. We’re working hard to earn every penny of your print and online subscriptions, while being a force for edifying, solution-oriented journalism.
Noel Nash
Noel Nash is publisher of The Chronicle.
