PAGE 11 Thursday, October 12, 2023 MERIDIAN SOURCE
Opinion
Leeway from Lloyd: Newspapers have you covered STAFF WRITER GEOFF LEE
Riddle me this. What’s black and white and read all over? The answer is a newspaper. National Newspaper Week was marked last week to recognize the important contribution newspapers have especially at the community level. Unlike corporate chain newspapers, many independent community newspapers are doing well especially if they operate the opposite to chains that only focus on the bottom line. The formula for success is: good local content attracts readers which attracts advertisers. That means a lot of features and putting community service first by covering, supporting and sponsoring local events. When a chain buys a small paper they end up cutting staff or going fully digital to cut costs and inevitably their own throat. This leads to a local news vacuum that can be filled by the independents looking to grow with content. The Moosomin World Spectator, for example is entering its 140th year in business this month with upward revenue and circulation growth and new publications over the past 20 years according to
owner and publisher Kevin Weedmark. He spoke about the opposite approach he takes versus the chains in a CBC radio interview last week from Regina. Some news outlets that used to have printed newspapers, but have gone fully digital are taking a revenue hit since Meta and Google decided to block all news content from media in reaction to Bill C-18 Canada’s Online News Act. It requires Meta and Google to pay media for news content shared on their online platforms. The Meridian Source continues to be printed and distributed free to homes along with
its paid advertisements that thousands of potential local customers can read, save and refer to. The flyers allow consumers to find bargains as the cost of the living rises. A community paper give advertisers a good bang for their buck, knowing how many people they can reach for at a least a week until the next edition. Digital is a crap shoot. The Source covers all aspects of the community such as community leaders, heroes, organizations, sports, fundraisers, and business stories along with hard news etc. That’s why the Source is black and white and read all over.
