There are a couple of important events in our office this week.
The first is National Newspapers Week from Oct. 1-7. We’ve written about it before, but now you’ll have to wait until next year before we write about it again.
The Thanksgiving long weekend is coming up. It’s a chance for us to reflect on the many reasons we’re thankful.
So perhaps this is a different spin on National Newspaper Week opinion piece, or a Thanksgiving editorial. But we’re thankful for all of you.
Successful newspapers have several common denominators: reporters capable of writing good stories and taking eye-catching photographs, sales representatives capable of selling advertisements, graphic designers who create an appealing look for the pages, and leaders who make sure people are doing their jobs.
But without the readers, newspapers don’t exist.
It’s like any other business. Take away the customers or the clients, and that business fades away into obscurity. Businesses often fail because they don’t deliver a quality product their readers enjoy, they take their customers for granted, or they don’t evolve to meet the needs of their customers.
We know people are busy. If newspapers don’t deliver a quality product to their readers on a daily or weekly basis, then they won’t read the paper, regardless of whether it’s free or a subscription. You’ll find something better to do.
So it’s imperative to strive for excellence, and to engage you as much as possible.
We like it when you stop us on the street to talk to us about a story that appeared in the paper. We like it when you offer your feedback. Of course, we want to hear that you liked a story, but we’ll also pay attention if you tell us you didn’t like it.
(Note: just because you disagree with it doesn’t mean that it was bad. It’s bad if it’s contradictory or inaccurate).
And we like it when you come to us with story ideas. To us, it shows trust in our ability to get your story right, or the story of a friend right.
Perhaps you’re a senior citizen who has been reading newspapers for your entire life. Thank you. Perhaps you’re middle aged or a millennial who enjoys reading our products each week. We thank you too. Or perhaps you’re a young person who is finding an appreciation for the printed word and story-telling through our papers. We thank you, too.
We always enjoy seeing the thrill in a young person’s eyes when they find out they will be in the paper. In many cases, it’s the first time they’ve been in the paper. And we know parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts and friends love seeing their kids in the paper.
Yes, there are times when people’s names appear in a paper when they don’t want it there, but most times when someone has their name or face printed, it’s for the right reasons.
The times are changing for newspapers. There are people whose consumption of newspaper content comes through the online realm, checking websites to see if anything has been updated. It’s important to newspapers to remember the online component of their operations.
But there are still so many people who like to hold the product in their hand each day or each week as they flip through the pages and look for information on what’s happening in the community.
Regardless of how or when you read our content, we’re thankful for the support. And we look forward to continue bringing the information to you each week.
