Dear Readers,
The Durango Herald is dealing with the same economic pressures that all other newspapers face: Worldwide internet companies are attracting a lot of the advertising revenue that previously supported newspapers’ newsrooms and operations, and social media is allowing retailers to orchestrate their own advertising.
While the Herald’s combined online and print readership is at an all-time high and rising, digital revenue has not yet replaced print revenue. Reporters and editors are doing more, and story sharing is commonplace, but the newsroom has become smaller in the past few years.
To realign the Herald’s news space with advertising, the Herald on Friday reduced the number of pages printed each week by eight. Friday and Saturday editions are each four pages smaller. Less space is being devoted to wire service stories in the Travel, Food and Opinion pages, and to the Herald’s self-promotions.
What is important is that locally written content about Durango and La Plata County and the Southwest, which is most important to Herald readers, will continue at full strength.
Two content adjustments are being made. Previously appearing Friday, the Arts & Entertainment calendar will move to Wednesday to give readers a better start to plan ahead. On Saturday, Opinion starts on the back cover of Section C, giving it added visibility.
At the same time, the Herald has launched an aggressive subscription campaign. Editor Trent Stephens addressed that Friday, June 14.
The Herald’s leadership believes that the Herald’s insightful local content and its contributions by the community, most of which are unavailable anywhere else, will appeal to new readers on a regular basis. These new readers may be in the communities the Herald covers, part-time residents or those interested in particular topics.
While we wish that economics allowed the Herald to appear in print seven days a week, reader habits and economics dictate otherwise. Using a laptop or a cellphone, readers enjoy Herald content wherever they are, with new stories posted as they are written. The E-edition allows computer users to see full Herald pages. With an 8% reduction in pages, the Herald is furthering its efforts to strategically package news, opinion and advertising, which through the years have largely been appreciated by readers and recognized by judges.
The challenge newspapers face today is to continue to increase online readership and revenue, while sustaining quality reporting. The Herald is working to get that balance correct for today and for tomorrow. The Herald’s realignment, which preserves local content, is a step in that direction.
As always, contact me with any comment or suggestion. La Plata County deserves quality reporting, commentary and advertising, and the Herald strives to be that source.
Richard G. BallantineBoard chairman, Ballantine Communications Inc.
