Dealing with the downturn like everyone else

This town’s newspaper has always been a community sounding board. Not everyone likes that aspect of the News but it is something I think everyone who has ever worked here takes pride in. It is with great relish that we print just about anything that is signed by a real person. We count on you and we hope you count on us. But as we too feel the impacts of a slowing economy and a cyclical off-season, there are fewer ads in the paper. Fewer ads mean fewer pages. Fewer pages mean less space for the sounding board. That is somewhat painful.
Every week, we are forced to leave things out. We have left out letters, notices, kids news, announcements and my editorial. Some of our stories are held a week or longer, which will drive any news guy a little nuts. For all of this I truly feel bad and I apologize. During the past few years we had the luxury to get just about anything sent to us into the printed pages of the newspaper. That boom is over for the moment.
Like everyone, we are trying to figure out the best way to handle the downturn. There is still no shortage of news going on in this valley and we intend to cover it for you. We want to print every letter, meeting announcement and race result that is sent to us. Based on length, timing, duplication and things like editorial judgment and human error, there will be things that might not make it. We pride ourselves on giving a loud voice to all sides in the community (please don’t start with me on Norton or Hall…) and we will continue every effort in that direction.
Don’t stop sending us letters and news tips and notices. We are listening but the reality is, we may not get everything in. In that regard, we are trying to utilize our website at www.crestedbuttenews.com and post things that might not make it into the paper. There is a category on the site titled “Online Extra” that features items you won’t see on the printed page. Between rounds at Facebook, check it out.
If you have any suggestions, as always, we appreciate them. Thanks for understanding and we look forward to hearing from you.