If you like your local newspaper, spread the word. You’re going to regret it if you don’t support this vital member of every community.

This is something I have been preaching about from time to time, because you won’t know how important it is until your local newspaper is no more.

It’s not going to happen here under our watch. Our newspapers are bucking the trend, and we’re growing.

Last year at this very same time, we ran a series of front page messages urging support of local journalism. It’s more important now than ever.

Our papers have been at the forefront of big stories and important events. We’ve been a central point of information for the community. In short, we’re doing what newspapers are supposed to do.

Some newspapers have lost their vision. They became enamored with the Internet when it came out and the possibility of getting the news to people without having to print it on paper.

These companies are 100 percent responsible for the damage they did to the newspaper industry. Our growth is a direct response to the fact that their way of business didn’t work. But they continue to press further down that path. It’s like driving down a mountain pass and ignoring warning that there’s an avalanche coming ahead. Instead of turning around, they drove into the falling rocks. They had a chance to turn back, but they let the rocks continue falling, attempting to dodge them.

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One local newspaper chain bragged to two local units of government in just February of this year that their coverage of the area was superior, based on the fact that they had 20 newspaper reporters and more resources than this small town newspaper could offer.

Today, that same company has reduced its operations to a fraction of what they were that day. A once daily paper is now a weekly. Newspapers were shut down. Staff was fired. More staff was fired. They now have six reporters covering news in two states and three counties.

What of the promises they made? It doesn’t matter because elected officials obviously made the correct choice.

We know that some people – especially if they aren’t living here – prefer to read their local newspaper on the internet. But as a business model for a once printed newspaper, it’s the beginning of an obituary yet to be written. People just aren’t going to pay for news on the internet. There’s a lot out there already – some true and a lot of it not. Trying to mix your paper in that slurry only brings your product down to that level. And, we’re here to tell you that the business model, plain and simple, doesn’t work. If it did, you wouldn’t see newspapers going away.

The real crisis these companies are causing is in the number of journalists having to flee the profession, victims of a flawed business plan, and the effect that has on a lot of things.

This weekend, we said our final farewell to my father, Jim McLoone. He passed away April 9 at the age of 91. He was what would be termed an “old school” newspaperman. He banged away his news copy on a typewriter and was vigilant about making sure his community was informed. That’s the main responsibility of a newspaper. Scoop McLoone passed on his newspaper to a company that didn’t do things his way. His papers are now gone. Their obituary was written before his.

We urge you, please, support your local newspaper. We know, however, that it’s a two-way street. We owe something to you. You deserve solid news coverage. You’re paying for it – albeit not much in the scheme of things.

We hope to continue earning your subscriptions. We promise to keep putting a newspaper in your hand each week, and we promise to keep an eye on the community.

If you aren’t currently a subscriber, please give us a try! If there’s something we can do better, please let us know.