Newspapers may change but they will still be around for years to come

Thursday evening I was stopped by a retired Abitibi employee at the Sorting Gap Marina. We had both found our way to the location to enjoy a hard ice cream cone. We talked about his retirement and then he asked me about the future of newspapers.
“I can’t see a future in making newsprint” he said. “My children who live in the cities don’t subscribe to the city papers. They don’t have the time to read a newspaper.”
So I asked him how his grown children got their information about what was happening in their city and in the community that they lived in. I learned it was from the internet. And he pointed out to me that it was free, not like buying a subscription.
Newspapers have been the vehicle that has brought the news of communities into the homes of the community in which they reside. Since the advent of moveable type, someone has gone out to meetings, attended accidents, attended concerts and festivals and then has told the story in the newspapers. Today is no different.
Reporters go to council meetings. They take pictures of the winners of musical festivals. They record sporting events, births, deaths, funerals, accidents, take pictures of parades, graduations, entertainers councils, basketball and soccer games.
Reporters watch governments and help the people of the country hold elected representatives accountable to the citizens.
And the newspaper pays those reporters and photographers.
Over 70 carriers deliver the Fort Frances Times and Daily Bulletin to households in Fort Frances and Couchiching. For most carriers delivering papers is their very first job.
The staff of our papers, The Times/Bulletin and RR Record, include two editors, sales people, production manager, a publisher, software technicians, press people, graphic artists, book keepers, circulation managers and delivery staff.
And if papers disappear many of those jobs would also be lost from the district.
And with the loss of newspapers, who might be responsible for gathering the news. Would news follow the route of the VHS tape?
I think not. Newspapers are still vital in Fort Frances and Canada. In the Rainy River District, over 80% of the residents have read the last issue of the Fort Frances Times. It has more penetration into households than does the internet.
In Canada, 78% of Canadians have read a daily paper in the last seven days. Today, more people are reading newspapers than a decade ago. Newspapers contribute the health and identity of every town they serve. They connect people living on one block to acquaintances living on the other side of town whether In Fort Frances or Prince George.
Will newspapers disappear? I think not. Will they remain a vital link in communities? The answer is yes!
It is becoming much clearer that good reliable reporting is not inexpensive and to expect free news is unrealistic. Newspapers might not always be printed on paper. Reporters will still sit down and write stories. They will take photographs and videos. The stories will be edited by editors and the news of the community will be delivered in some new fashion.
We may see the disappearance of carriers but news will be delivered and in the future, we are likely going to pay more for news.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher