The best local small town newspapers have a special bond with their readers. They’re trusted because they’re trustworthy. They tell it like it is and will go that extra mile to deliver the best newspaper that they can week in and week out. They’re committed to their community and work 24/7 to bring you the news that matters to you the most. They’re recording history with every page.
With the county’s most read newspaper, the Eganville Leader, planning to close at the end of February, it leaves several unanswered questions. How will we get the news? Will it be AI generated? Will it only be on someone’s blog? Who’s having a sale? Who’s hiring? Who passed away?
If you take a look at the once daily Pembroke Observer and the weekly Renfrew Mercury and Arnprior Chronicle-Guide, all formerly printed newspapers that have gone online, you might be wondering why they made that choice. More than likely due to the lack of advertising from municipalities, local businesses, local organizations and classified ads in your local printed editions.
The County of Renfrew is the biggest county by size in Ontario, with a population of well over 100,000, and there will only be two locally-owned printed newspapers left if the Eganville Leader closes.
Local resident and former Liberal MPP Sean Conway asked me the other day, “If all the printed newspapers close on February 26 when the Leader is scheduled to close, how will people get their news?” He went on to say, “It’s a real shame people don’t realize that it will cripple the county.” Local resident Lenny Furtado asked me the other day, “Are you going to be able to keep The Valley Gazette going?” Dr. Joe mentioned, “It’s a real shame that people do not realize that if The Valley Gazette closes down as well, no one will know what’s happening.” He went on to say, “We all have cell phones/devices but they are not newspapers. A young mother was in the office just before Christmas to pick up a gift her son had won in our Christmas Colouring Contest. She said that she loves The Valley Gazette with small town people in the articles and she encourages her children to read the paper. She mentioned it would be a real shame if the paper had to close and it’s a real shame people don’t realize that newspapers are important and they certainly are not Meta where people just say the craziest things. People think its okay to be ignorant
and rude.
We’ve had many people saying “we sure hope you do not close The Valley Gazette.” Dennis Billings a long time subscriber keeps saying, “Mike don’t let me down” when I see him in town.
If you have a friend or relative living in the Pembroke, Renfrew, Eganville and surrounding area, please share this message with them. If you know a business owner in the county please do the same.
The North Renfrew Times in Deep River and The Valley Gazette in Madawaska Valley are both locally owned and are willing to do their best to fill the void that will be left behind if the Eganville Leader closes, but we need your support. If we don’t, we will eventually have to close as well, leaving the biggest county in Ontario with very little local news coverage.
Sure, some people will crank up some blogs and share press releases, but that is far different from journalistically produced local news. You will not get the same coverage of local township meetings and events. You will not hear the stories of community members doing great things. You may not even hear when an old friend or neighbour has passed on.
During the mail strike we had a good number of our subscribers come into the office to pick up their paper. Many, if not all, thanked us for keeping the newspaper going. They said they read the newspaper for many reasons. They talked about how the newspaper is needed in the community to keep everyone informed.
Here at The Valley Gazette, we certainly appreciate your kind words and encouragement to keep moving forward. It tells us that not all people are going to the internet, the numerous chat rooms or various other Facebook pages to read the spin on the local news and stories that matter.
I will only speak for myself and say that in order for The Valley Gazette to continue going forward we hope we continue to see the county and municipal employment ads, tender ads, upcoming events ads, local retail ads, classified ads and the like, and we need just about every household in our area to purchase the paper each and every week.
If the Eganville Leader ceases publishing, The Valley Gazette’s freight cost will double, printing cost will go up and that means we need to sell at very least another 600 papers a week. That will likely not happen in our home town.
Many of our long time subscribers have entered the gates of heaven over the past few years. The Valley Gazette will have to increase the price of the newspaper on the newsstands and no longer offer discounts on subscriptions.
I can not stress how important community engagement, local advertising and new readership are for this newspaper.
By community engagement I mean that when we ask for people to submit Christmas Traditions and recipes for our annual Christmas Wishes feature please send us something. When we run a kids colouring contest, have the children colour the page and submit it. When you have an event and are taking photos, please submit them to your local newspaper. If you have an idea for an article, please contact us. We have our Shutterbug and Community Corner features for just those things.
I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying “use it or lose it”
Without engagement your local newspaper struggles.
We’re here for you, if you’re here for us.
Please share this message.
Sincerely
Michel Lavigne
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