When I was born, it was big news. I know that, because my parents still have the newspaper birth announcement they clipped from The Chronicle.
In high school, any accomplishment by myself or my friends was officially impressive if it merited a mention in The Chronicle.
When I was married, I was thrilled to pick the perfect picture with my beautiful bride, finish the write-up, and submit it to be printed in The Chronicle.
When those close to us die, our final act of respect and love is to tell their life story in the best words we can summon, and print them in our newspaper.
And when I want to know who’s who in sports, or what’s happening in local theater, or what the devil is happening with local politics, I turn to The Chronicle. Sometimes in print, more often online via my phone, I know that our newspaper is the most dependable source of local news.
I also know it’s not perfect! Every newspaper makes mistakes. I was a reporter at The Chronicle for five years, and an editor for five more. I’ve written this column, off and on, for 14 years. I’ve certainly made my share of flubs, some of them doozies. I also made some hard calls, and knew that I’d be getting hard calls (on the phone) in return. But every time I made a mistake, or a bad choice, I was accountable.
That’s one of the biggest differences between your community newspaper and whatever (mis)information you find floating around online. Your newspaper folks stand behind their word and their work. They’ll answer the phone or your email, or talk to you in person. They won’t always be right, but they’ll be there the next day to answer for their decisions and stories. That’s not true of the latest meme you see floating by in your Facebook feed.
For 131 years, this newspaper has been informing, delighting, comforting, confounding and — yes — chronicling life in our towns and neighborhoods.
But that history, our shared history, is imperiled.
The shocks from the novel coronavirus have changed everything for all of us.
Most businesses are closed. Activities are shut down. Commerce is nearly at a halt.
All newspapers depend on advertisements, and our community’s newspaper is no different.
While its online numbers are impressive (20,000 Facebook followers and 1.3 million online story views in the past month), it is old-fashioned print advertisements that pay the bills. Paid subscriptions are also crucial, but as advertisements have dried up during the coronavirus shutdowns, the newspaper’s biggest income source have gone away.
In a rare front-page editorial on Thursday, The Chronicle’s leaders said that the very existence of our newspaper could be in question.
We all love freebies, but the era of free news is rapidly becoming the era of either paid news, or no reliable news at all.
It’s time for all of us to individually decide if we want to be part of a collective effort to keep our Lewis County newspaper strong and thriving.
If you’re a subscriber — thank you! You are doing your civic duty to support the best-sourced, most enduring and most responsible source of local news. Whether you read it in print or online, you can feel good about knowing that you are helping keep solid news afloat.
If you’re not a subscriber — if you’re reading this online, for instance — I’d humbly but urgently ask you to subscribe if you’re able. If you are one of the lucky ones still collecting your paycheck, I’d ask you to do your part to keep our newspaper alive.
If you’ve ever depended on our newspaper to be informed; if you’ve ever been delighted to see your name or the name of a friend in print; if you’ve ever squinted in the background of a picture to find your face in the crowd; if you’ve ever asked The Chronicle to print news about your event or activity; in short, if you are glad our community has a dependable news source, it’s time for you to step up and support it.
And in an unprecedented step, The Chronicle is also asking for donations. Even if you subscribe, please consider giving a little extra to help it through these rough times. You can subscribe or donate here: http://www.chronline.com/contribute/ or by calling 360-807-8203.
I’ll also note with approval that when The Chronicle asked for donations this week, it also listed a number of other local groups that are also collecting donations to support those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s the same reason the paper has been printing features on a different local business in every edition.
Our newspaper is something that holds our community together. It’s a shared experience and a trusted source of both information and connection.
What would life be like without it? I hope we never find out, but I thought of a chilling line by the great poet W.B. Yeats. During another pandemic, the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918-1920, and as the world was coming to terms with the horrors of “the War to End All Wars,” Yeats wrote these words:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...
But it doesn’t have to be that way. We are blessed in Lewis County with journalists who take seriously their job of telling our stories with respect, honesty and a desire to help us better understand one another.
In this time of isolation, there are few more precious commodities for us to preserve and celebrate than authentic, informed, affectionate community connections. That’s what our newspaper provides. Please do your part to keep The Chronicle alive and thriving beyond this pandemic and for years to come.
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Brian Mittge’s community column appears each Saturday. He thanks everyone for their support, and is sorry for the occasional mistakes. He’ll keep trying to do better. Drop him a line at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
