It’s been a tough few months for community newspapers.
In November the postal strike created a logistical delivery challenge. Some small papers opted to publish only on their website, while others like this one, opted to deliver a printed product. I owe a debt of gratitude to the energetic and gracious people who helped deliver your December edition: Wendy, Rob, Glenn, Chase, Quinn, Sarah, and Dean. I promise you I will think good and hard before I ask you to do that again!
Next came the price bump in postage rates. These seem to come along every 18 months or so. But the biggest, least expected challenge was yet to come. Last week in an email, the printer that has printed this paper for a decade advised that it was closing permanent in a few weeks. This printing firm has served all 3 local, independent newspapers- The Orono Times, The Lindsay Herald and this one. It seems that the combination of closures of other newspapers squeezed by reduced print advertising due to the proliferation of social media advertising options and the impact of Covid meant their business was no longer viable. This will be the last edition printed by Webnews Printing, a business with a 25 year history of serving their customers well.
Bear with me as we begin to work with a new printer for the March edition as there may be some bumps along the way. With very few print business still producing newspapers, we must meet the new expectations of our new supplier. Deadlines will be earlier as the new printer squeezes in this little publication into its schedule, but I am optimistic that this new relationship will allow us to continue to print, at least for a bit longer. KG