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digg itI don’t think there was a single employee there six years ago who thought this was a good idea to begin with. In fact, many in the community balked at the idea then, sighting the same reasons now stated in the story above. Irony abounds when I read “Papers that are worth waiting on.” The irony? This was the position many in the community took to discourage the extra addition back then.
In 2002 the move was veiled as a method for getting the news out faster. But very few, other than the Media General corporate transplants, really bit off on that idea. It was way too obvious that it was the potential revenue, which made the idea so attractive to the new owners and stockholders – trying their best to squeeze the last bit of cash they could out of a medium, which had already begun to see a downturn due to the exponential growth of new media.
I think all concerned with the health of community journalism in Southwestern Virginia should be happy the once mulled over concept of one mighty regional paper serving the contiguous counties on the fringes of the dominant dailies anchored in Roanoke and Bristol never materialized. Had that happened, who knows what the outcome would be now.
Considering Media General stock was trading near the 70-dollar mark six-years ago and now for 15-dollars and some change, one need not hold a business degree to deduce that the company has made more than one poor choice in the past six years. But sadly, once a community newspaper becomes a brand extension – something akin to a corporate accessory – it reflects the philosophy of corporation that “wears” it instead of the community, which produces it.
Although I sit here 1,900-miles away and seven years removed from Wytheville, my heart still lies in Southwestern Virginia and with that special sense of community rural living evokes. And quite frankly the death of the “thrice weekly” Enterprise should not necessarily result in my thoughts written above, but it needed to be pointed out.
Finally, I applaud those in the newsrooms who truly believe in the spirit of community journalism and understand that without their words written into the fabric of the community they write about, there wouldn’t be a community –– Internet or not.
Paper to drop Tuesday edition
Wytheville Enterprise: News >
Fri May 16, 2008 - 03:21 PM
By MARK SAGE/Staff
To borrow a line from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tuesday’s gone, and with it Thursday.
Enter the return of Wednesday.
Six years ago, the Southwest Virginia Enterprise was a twice-weekly paper distributed on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Then, on June 4, 2002, the name of the paper changed, to its current Wytheville Enterprise, as did its frequency and distribution days. That day, a Tuesday, marked the beginning of the Enterprise’s run as a thrice-weekly. Two days later, on June 6, 2002, the first Thursday Enterprise debuted.
The move then was made with the readers in mind and was a good one for the time. That was before anyone knew how much the Internet would change our role in the market. The more information the newspaper can give, the more people it can reach, the better. Going to three days a week helped to make the Wythe County paper more current. It ensured that we could connect with readers more often. At that time, we, like most newspapers, used our Web site, such as it was, as a place to dump a few stories after they had been set down in ink. In the years between then and now, we’ve come to realize that the Web and our news site, http://www.swvatoday.com, must be more than an afterthought. It can connect with readers whenever readers want it. It allows us to reach more people with more information without constraint of time or space.
As we began to realize the true role and potential of the online Enterprise, we began to see that the Tuesday paper had become an afterthought. It kept us from connecting with readers on a daily basis and it tied up resources that could be used to make better papers on Thursday and Saturday.
So, with that in mind, six years to the day the Enterprise became a thrice-weekly, it will again change, this time back into a twice-weekly. June 4, 2008, a Wednesday, will mark the return of the Enterprise to a Wednesday and Saturday newspaper.
It’s a move we here at the paper believe is a good one for the time. We hope that eliminating a day of publication will make the other two days fuller, more enjoyable and more informative – papers that are worth waiting on. We also hope that the extra time can be used to overhaul our approach to newsgathering and reporting. The Internet has turned every paper, even the once-a-week ones, into daily papers. We have begun to make strides in that direction, covering breaking news on the Web as it happens. We want to be the source you turn to daily to find out what’s going on and weekly to discover what you might have missed in the daily grind. The Internet, as it turned all papers into daily papers, has turned all citizens into citizen journalists. Everyone with a cell phone camera and a keypad nowadays is a reporter. We invite you to help us out. Some of you already are, and we appreciate it.
The publication days aren’t all that’s changing. Subscription rates will too. Current subscribers will receive a credit on their accounts that will extend the subscription expiration date. As of June 1, in-county subscriber rates will go down to $36. Out-of-county subscribers will pay $50 per year and out-of-state subscribers $59. Subscriptions now cost $47 in county, $63 out of county and $73 out of state.
If you want to let us know what you think of the change, give us a call at 228-6611, send a letter to 460 W. Main St., Wytheville VA 24382 or go to http://www.swvatoday.com.
I think this is a good move. I’ve only lived in Wytheville for 3 years but 3 newspapers a week for such a small town seems to be a little excessive.
I’m sure all the environmentalists will like this too. Just look at all the trees (paper) that will be saved.
