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Editorial: Sustainable news

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The Cherokee County Board of Supervisors this week reaffirmed its earlier decision not to name the Aurelia Star an official county publication. The loss of revenue, about $8,000 annually, will throw what was a break-even enterprise into a certain loss. The supervisors said they need to save money, and did so at the expense of public notices and Aurelia.

As such, the Aurelia Star ceases publication immediately. Star readers may convert their subscription terms to either the Storm Lake Times Pilot or the Cherokee Chronicle Times by emailing their choice to circ@stormlake.com.

We are heartsick. It was a long time coming. The former owner handed the Star to us to keep it going a few years ago. We did the best we could. Despite the enormous sums spent on economic development, Aurelia does not have enough business to support a newspaper anymore. The public notices were a way to keep it going. Local news keeps communities strong. The government does not see things that way. That is one reason that communities in Northwest Iowa are drifting away.

TIMES ARE CHANGING. It is difficult for us to keep pace. Advertising has dropped nearly $60,000 in Cherokee County over the past year. That’s about how much our combined Storm Lake and Cherokee operations lost last year — losses that were covered by generous reader donations.

We know we cannot count on donations to float the boat. We must make do, and we will. We know how, even if we don’t like it.

We are in the midst of a transition to digital communication. We have introduced a new website that is easier to read and manage. Paid subscriptions are increasing to the Cherokee Chronicle Times and the Storm Lake Times Pilot. Print circulation is steady to declining slightly, while digital subscriptions are increasing at a gratifying rate.

Print advertising is not increasing. Former patrons use Google or Facebook even though we reach more eyeballs in Buena Vista and Cherokee counties than social media does. It is very hard to compete with Google or with free help-wanted ads (that might not be seen in the social media ether). We are attempting to survive primarily on reader revenue. There aren’t enough people around Aurelia anymore, no thanks to government that ignores small towns to death.

THE COUNTY SUPERVISORS voted to shut down the Aurelia Star. All we can do is offer regrets and plan to make local news stronger in Storm Lake and Cherokee. That involves a sharper focus on digital offerings. It may mean less frequent printing of the Storm Lake Times Pilot and the Ad Guide.

We are considering printing the Storm Lake Times Pilot once a week instead of twice a week. The loss of weekly grocery and auto dealer ads makes our Wednesday paper thin. We could put out a more substantial once-a-week paper with all the news and ads. In Cherokee, paid circulation increased by 25% when we went to once a week on Fridays while posting breaking news online.

The Cedar Rapids Gazette, Sioux City Journal and Dubuque Telegraph Herald all cut back from daily printing to three times a week.

We post news as it happens online at www.stormlake.com and www.chronicletimes.com. We publish daily email news bulletins, and we intend to introduce more of them.

We also have considered printing the Ad Guide twice a month instead of weekly.

We would appreciate hearing what you think.

WE ARE COMMITTED to serving Buena Vista and Cherokee counties with timely news coverage delivered in the form that readers demand. We have added reporting staff. Our sales people are eager to help local businesses market their products and services effectively.

Closing the Aurelia Star reminds us that we must stay on course toward a sustainable publishing strategy, and we hope it reminds our communities that local news needs your support to survive. We try to earn it with high-quality journalism that pursues the facts without fear, and which serves everyplace from Marathon to Marcus. We are there on the sidelines on Friday nights, and we are there as the supervisors spew gravel  on Tuesdays, and at all hours when the town floods or a man shoots at police. When you need to know the facts, we get them to you one way or another. We need your help to get the job done.

Thanks.

Editorial, Art Cullen

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