Like a gas station, a grocery store or a dentist’s office, this newspaper provides a valuable public service – but it is also a business.
And like all businesses, this newspaper is subject to market forces that range from inflation to insurance costs, interest rates, taxes and more.
Rising costs and a shifting economy that have resulted in price increases affecting everything from the cost of fuel to the cost of bread have not spared this newspaper.
For that reason, and after much thought and analysis, this paper is raising the cost of its subscriptions and single-copy rates, marked by modest increases that take effect Nov. 1.
Yearly rates are $75 for in-county residents; $85 for out-of-county residents; $90 for out-of-state subscribers; and $69 for digital-only subscriptions. The cost of a single issue from the newsstand will be $1.50.
This is not something we want to do, but we have no other choice if we are going to continue to provide the news, features, events, sports, legal notices and advertising that are the lifeblood of this community. We didn’t reach this conclusion on a whim, and unlike many other businesses, this paper for a long time has resisted instituting any hikes in the cost of providing this valuable service.
No one likes to pay more at the pump or in the checkout line, but we do it anyway because we need fuel for our cars and fuel for our bodies.
The same can be said for this newspaper, which provides fuel for the mind.
Each week the paper arrives in your mailboxes and your inboxes filled with news you can use, an invaluable first draft of history that tells you everything you need to know about your town, whether it’s who made the winning touchdown to the latest crime trends or City Hall zoning decisions.
But it doesn’t come free. Behind the headlines, the stories, the photos and the graphics are a group of people tirelessly working to serve their community, whether it’s the reporter at the press conference, the pressman at the printing plant, the sales rep trying to help grow your business or the bookkeeper processing an obituary.
Newspapers revolve around the three Ps — paper, postage and people.
If we can’t maintain or control the costs of the first two, then we have to make unfortunate and painful reductions in the third category. That benefits no one, least of all the community members depending on the impartial, unbiased and accurate coverage we provide each and every week.
The folks putting the paper together for the benefit of the readers are your neighbors and your friends; the people you see at church or at the supermarket; they are there at the sports games cheering your kids, just as you are cheering theirs.
All of us share a community bond, and the newspaper is the glue that helps hold it all together.
But it doesn’t come cheap. Newsprint — the wood that is cut, transported, milled, pulped and turned into the paper that runs on the presses — costs thousands and thousands of dollars. Then there’s ink, cleaning solvents, uniforms and overhead at the printing plant, not to mention transport by tractor-trailer rigs, which can be impacted by labor disputes and diesel costs.
The pressmen who run the printing plant and the drivers who make sure copies get to your mailbox also must be paid — just like the employees and contractors at your business.
The account executives who visit and learn about your company, who seek to help you increase customer referrals to your store, firm or service, who earnestly want to see your business succeed because they know a rising tide lifts all boats, also have to make a living wage and receive fair compensation in the form of commissions from the ads they sell.
Their work selling advertising not only keeps the lights on at the paper, but the desiredfor profit margins allow us to increase services to you, the audience, by hiring more reporters and other employees, offering more community services (whether it’s sponsoring local scholarships or tailgate parties that fund an educational foundation) and helping the town in other ways.
The reporters, photographers and editors working late hours in weather fair or foul, covering all manner of stories, whether it’s a gut-wrenching fatality accident they will never forget to a fun and free-for-all rush of kids doing mutton bustin’ at the rodeo, also must be paid equitable compensation for their services so they can make their bills. It’s no different than any other business.
The same for bookkeepers and other support personnel.
Don’t forget health insurance, overhead, payroll taxes, pest control, general upkeep and a thousand other financial necessities that are part of keeping a business running.
Like you, all of the folks at this newspaper have obligations, whether it’s paying rent or a mortgage, taking care of medical costs, providing child care or supporting a senior family member. goodwill alone doesn’t pay the bills.
That is why we are asking our readers to understand why we had to make this very difficult decision to increase prices, and we sincerely hope you will continue to support your newspaper for years to come.
Like food and fuel, newspapers power a community and keep it going.
Here is a breakdown of the new prices: We thank our readers for their patience, understanding and their continued patronage.
If you have questions, concerns or observations, don’t hesitate to reach out to us by calling 830-249-2441 or emailing Publisher Marcy Branson at [email protected].
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