Welcome to the first edition of the expansion of The New Era to include coverage of the entire east Linn County!
Although we try not to sensationalize news, I’ll let that exclamation point through, but that will be it…
Seriously, though, it’s good to finally be here and we pray that this new initiative will work out for the good of everyone involved – you, the reader, our advertisers and our staff.
But how well this goes will depend a lot on you, the community.
I don’t want to belabor the point, but it’s a very crucial one. I don’t think I’m over-dramatizing the situation when I say that we’re fighting a very real battle to solidify this newspaper for the future, and we think this move will help.
There are a number of ways that you, the reader, can assist us in this process.
The fact that you’re reading this very likely means that you’re a subscriber, which is very helpful. Having a dependable revenue stream is crucial to any business enterprise, and it’s particularly so for us. When you subscribe, you assist our efforts in that way.
Another important way to help us is to tell advertisers that you’ve seen their ads in the newspaper. It’s helpful to them to know they’re getting your attention and by extension, it helps us. There is a LOT of competition for ad dollars these days, but online advertising doesn’t replace a good print ad and print ads equal pages. More on that in a bit.
You can also help us identify things to write about. Our reporters are very good at covering interesting stories, but we are few and there are many potential stories out there. Unless we know about them, we can’t make an informed decision whether or not to cover them.
If you think it’s something we might be interested in or that we should know, email us at [email protected] or call us at (541) 367-2135. It’s that simple, and it’s important. And yes, phone calls to us are nearly always answered live (particularly between 10 and 5, Monday through Friday). You will talk to a real human being.
We’re always interested in covering, as much as possible, milestone celebrations, awards, honors and other achievements, big reunions. If someone is turning 100 and can converse with a reporter, or can do so with family help, we want to talk to you. A good story is often anything that legitimately would make someone say “wow!”
Letters to the Editor: Yes, the opinion page is not just for my opinion or people we choose. It is also for you. We welcome comments and insights from readers on topics of community interest presented in a civil manner (not Facebook rants).
We tell you things you should know. This newspaper can benefit a lot of people who, unfortunately, don’t take advantage of it. We bring issues to light that deserve public attention.
We help keep local government transparent. We help you understand and be part of your community by telling you about your community – or maybe telling the community about you.
We help local businesses connect with the people who actually live in east Linn County. And we try to do all this in an accurate, even-handed, unpretentious manner.
Newspapers provide a record of history. Plus, in our archives, we offer glimpses into the past that aren’t available in many other places except family lore and maybe a museum or some government records. As long as we’re a viable newspaper, we will continue to do that.
In today’s world, many newspapers like ours, which prioritize news coverage over all else, are finding themselves operating almost like nonprofits. Yes, we operate as a for-profit enterprise, but our primary purpose is to provide a service to the community and we haven’t let a lust for profit get in the way of that, although – obviously – we have to operate in the black to survive.
More and more we’re relying on those types of things, as you can see from the occasional QR codes, such as the one below, we offer readers who want to contribute through a nonprofit entity.
The business community also plays a big role in what we do. The support we get from businesses who promote themselves through newspaper advertising and sponsorships is key to how much news we can put in the paper. And now that we’re taking on Lebanon sports, we need space more than ever.
So here we go! We’re genuinely excited because we’ve wanted to serve our readers better and this is the strategy that makes the most sense in achieving that goal.