Dear community,

Today is a very bad news day.

We have enough money in the bank to publish two more editions. 

If something doesn’t change, October 26 will be the last print issue of the Herald.

It’s not our community newspaper, it’s your community newspaper, so we feel it’s important to be as honest as possible with you about what happened, what we’re doing about it, and what you can do.

Here’s what happened.

Advertising is the primary income source for newspapers. It’s about 85% of revenue, and it’s been steadily declining for years. Because of this, two community newspapers have closed in the U.S. every week since 2005. Now, we’re in the same situation.

September was the worst month for advertising we have ever had. Like most small businesses, we operate on a shoestring, so this was a critical and sudden hit. We know the traditional ‘advertising model’ doesn’t work anymore, and we’ve been working hard to diversify, pivot, and ‘be scrappy.’ That is not happening fast enough.

Here’s one thing that is enough, though: YOU, the readers. Readership numbers continue to grow, with the Herald being read by more than 2,200 people every week. On top of that, 1,600 of you get our weekly email, 3,000 visit the website each week, and we have excellent social media engagement.

While those things are amazing, they don’t keep the presses running.

Here’s what we’re doing about it.

– We will be letting our only full-time reporter go.

– We are cutting the number of papers we print and distribute to the bone.

– We are cutting every other extraneous expense we can think of, including our own paychecks.

– As a last resort, we’ll try cutting the print edition entirely and go digital-only.

Finally, we are asking for your help to save your community newspaper.

Here’s what you can do.

1. Become a Community Supporter.

Right now, we’re in crisis mode, but our long-term plan has always been to convert from the traditional advertising model to membership/community ownership, or a blend of those two.

Anyone who donates any amount in the next two weeks will become an honorary member of our future membership model. We don’t have all the details yet, but there will be different levels with different benefits based on donation amount. We will be hammering that information out and getting it to you ASAP.

You can specify if you’d like us to use your donations for Meeker news, Rangely news, or general expenses.

Make a one-time or recurring donation here.

2. If you’re a business, advertise.

Advertising is still our primary revenue source, especially as we try to close this gap. Despite what Google and Facebook tell you, print is still an excellent way to deliver your message (especially when you pair it with our digital and social options.)

Please, give us a chance to prove this to you.

Our next special, assuming we make it through this, will be Shop@Home. For details, email me ([email protected]) or call 970.878.4017.

We know there are some people who would love for us to go silent, but we believe with our whole hearts there are a lot more who love this 138-year-old community paper.

We’ll do everything in our power to keep your independent community news alive. We hope you’ll join us.

With gratitude,

Caitlin & Niki