SNP goes digital daily, print twice weekly

Customers and community leaders consistently ask the same question: “How is the Shoshone News-Press doing?”

As publisher, I appreciate the question because it reflects the importance of our longtime relationship. After all, we have served the Silver Valley for well over a century. We take pride in covering all of Shoshone County. We’re a leading newspaper that informs the public of community affairs and much more. People ask how we’re doing because they care.

The SNP has made great strides over the years to improve the quality, success and sustainability of your community newspaper. Our small but mighty team routinely receives compliments on reporting, design and the variety of information provided throughout the pages of the News-Press.

I give this context because I have an important announcement to make regarding the media services we provide the Silver Valley. I intentionally use the word “media” because we are more than a print newspaper. By now you may have discovered the soft-launch of our new website, shoshonenewspress.com. Our new website provides 24/7 access to news and information, further complementing the print newspaper.

So what’s happening to print? Beginning Wednesday, April 5, we’re changing our publishing frequency to twice weekly. Our new publishing days will be Wednesdays and Saturdays, complete with all the money-saving coupons and advertisements you’re accustomed to receiving. Delivery will be by mail.

Why would we do this? To balance costs to reflect the economic realities of publishing a community newspaper. For background, printing and delivering a daily newspaper is costly. Although we are reducing the number of print days to reduce expense, we are not cutting back on news coverage that our community depends upon. You can expect the same quality and quantity of local coverage, just packaged in fewer days.

While studying this topic, I learned that some small daily newspapers eventually ceased publication because revenues had dropped off yet they kept producing daily editions. They cut back on staffing and local coverage, trying to generate a small profit. This only creates a poor product. The better option is to make the conversion to twice weekly and start moving things in a positive direction for the future.

So you might ask, what happens on the other days? How do I stay connected with my community – obits, arrests, local sports scores? That’s why we’ve invested in and introduced shoshonenewspress.com. Whether from your desktop or mobile device, you’ll be able to stay in touch with community happenings and news whenever and wherever. And it’s all included in your subscription price.

Speaking of subscription price. Again, the economic realities of publishing our newspaper led to this tough decision. Rather than raise prices or weaken the daily product, we chose to hold the price, add a robust website, and strengthen what we publish while eliminating a few days of print.

A twice-weekly can be a great thing for a community. The news staff can focus on producing two quality newspapers, actually improving reader and advertiser value. Rather than filler copy dominating the pages of a six-day newspaper, the pages of a well edited twice-weekly will have a strong local flair and be more relevant.

Through this process, we examined our purpose and reexamined our business model. In the end, we want to remain relevant to the community while forging relationships and making good economic decisions leading us into the future.

I’ve already received positive feedback on our new website and encouraging words from readers, advertisers and community leaders becoming aware of pending change. I realize change is difficult, but as business conditions change, we must too.

I’ll keep you informed as we transition to a stronger twice-weekly publishing cycle and as we build our web presence. Anywhere. Anytime.

Thank you for your business. You’re the reason we are optimistic about the future.