Dear Readers,
I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has taken the time to call, email, or speak with me in person about the prospect of returning to a five-day print schedule for the Quill. It has been both humbling and inspiring to hear from so many members of the community who care as much as I do about the future of this paper.
Your support, your ideas, and even your concerns are a powerful reminder that this newspaper is more than just ink on paper, it’s a community service, a reflection of the lives and stories that make this town what it is.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago in this column, the only way we’re going to make this transition back to a five-day print schedule is with the full support of the community. The reality is that this isn’t something we can do in isolation, and it's not something that happens overnight. It’s going to take all of us pulling together. And for that to happen, we need everyone on board, not just our current subscribers, but those who haven’t yet joined our family of readers.
Yes, we need to expand our subscriber base significantly to make this a reality.
Now, I know that sounds like a big ask, and I’m being fully transparent with you about exactly what it will take to bring back the daily newspaper this community deserves. It’s going to take more than just enthusiasm and well-wishes — although those certainly help! What we really need is to rally behind this paper in a concrete, measurable way.
So here’s the number we’re working with: 450 new subscribers. That’s right, we need 450 additional people to pledge to become subscribers once we return to printing five days a week. That number may sound large, but I’m confident we can get there together.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be running a graphic in the paper that tracks our progress toward that goal. It will be right there in print, visible for everyone to see. I want to be as open as possible with you, and this is one of the ways we’ll keep each other accountable and on the same page, literally. Every new subscriber brings us one step closer to our goal, and each step is important.
A question that’s come up more than a few times, understandably so, is how much will the price increase when we go back to printing five days a week?
I’m happy to say that the price will not increase.
That’s right, the cost of your subscription will remain the same. I know it might seem counterintuitive, especially since adding more days means more resources — more paper, more printing costs, more delivery logistics. But we’ve worked hard to make sure that we’re not passing those added costs onto you, our loyal readers. This is part of why our goal of 450 new subscribers is so critical. It’s ambitious, but it’s what we need to make this happen without increasing prices for anyone.
To all of our current subscribers, I cannot thank you enough for your continued support. You are the backbone of this newspaper, and we couldn’t do any of this without you. Your belief in the importance of local journalism is what keeps us going, and we’re so grateful to have you as part of our community.
But now, we need your help in spreading the word. If you have friends, family, or neighbors who aren’t currently subscribing, now is the time to talk to them about why this matters. Explain to them why local journalism is so vital, especially in today’s fast-moving world, where national news often overshadows the stories happening right here in our own backyard. Encourage them to consider pledging their support, too. The future of our newspaper truly depends on reaching more people — those who might not yet realize the importance of having a strong, independent local paper.
I understand that change can feel overwhelming, especially when it involves numbers and goals that seem big at first glance. But I want to remind you of something important: We don’t have to go it alone.
There’s a famous quote that has always resonated with me, and I think it perfectly captures where we are right now as a community. It goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
We could try to rush this process, but that wouldn’t get us very far. Instead, we’re choosing to go the distance, together. We’re choosing to make this a collaborative effort, one that includes every person in this community who believes in the power of local journalism. And I truly believe that if we work together, we can not only reach this goal but surpass it.
So let’s make this happen.
Let’s go far, together.
