The Ledger-Enquirer is opening its doors to the community as we change with the times

The Ledger-Enquirer turned 190 years old earlier in the year. This Thanksgiving, we are thankful for the honor of continuing a legacy of service to the community that began nearly two centuries ago. We are especially thankful for you and the hundreds of thousands of other readers who turn to us each month.

The Ledger-Enquirer is staffed by a dedicated group of reporters, editors and others who view their work as a sacred trust and duty on behalf of the people of the Chattahoochee Valley. Our mission is to provide the news, information and context the community needs to make life better for all, and we take it seriously.

How we fulfill that mission has changed many times since we first published in 1828, and the future will continue to bring changes.

It’s no secret that our industry has faced its share of challenges in recent years. Even setting aside the country’s highly partisan atmosphere and attacks on the press from national leaders, local newspapers nationwide have faced fundamental shifts in the nature of our business.

Newspapers nationwide have suffered from a 12-year decline in advertising revenue. Since 2006, print advertising — which accounted for 80 percent of all revenue in the industry — has declined by 70 percent. Additionally, local newspapers have gone from being one of the only (if not the only) local sources for on-demand information ranging from sports scores to stock quotes to help-wanted ads to one source among many.

Put simply, the newspaper of 2018 must look different from the newspapers of 2008 and of 1988. The fundamental economics of the industry demand it. This is true for every single local newspaper in America.

On the other hand, the Ledger-Enquirer still operates at a profit. Yes, print is profitable, and our digital operations are industry-leading. Ten times as many people read the Ledger-Enquirer each month as ever read us during the industry’s financial height. Earlier this year, our parent company announced that digital advertising revenue surpassed print advertising revenue, making McClatchy the first among its peers to reach that milestone.

Yes, we operate with a smaller staff and print a smaller physical paper. While our staff works tirelessly every day to put out our best work, readers and staff alike miss much about what we were.

Nonetheless, we are here for the long haul and are committed to remaining an essential part of the community. That requires working differently. We must allocate our time to that which is most important to the people and health of the community. We also must listen to and engage with the community in new ways.

Over the coming weeks and months, readers will notice changes that we hope will enable us to better deliver on our mission.

Our crime coverage will continue to shift, with fewer stories that don’t directly impact a large segment of the community. We will also move away from posting weekly DUI and felony mugshot galleries. This helps us stay committed to providing information that helps the community stay safe. Where there is imminent danger, we will be there reporting. When lives are taken, we will cover the tragedy. But when the public’s welfare is not enhanced by the immediate reporting of an incident, we will shift our efforts to deeper reporting. That will mean, for example, foregoing coverage of isolated crimes in favor of reporting on trends as needed.

Next month, we will start a monthly breakfast for readers of the Ledger-Enquirer. Inspired by the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley’s “On the Table” initiative, we will invite readers to meet with our staff over a little food and share with us their views of the community. For us to do better work, we must actively listen to you.

Along those same lines, we will form a reader advisory council to regularly give us feedback. We have, and will continue to make, mistakes. While we always strive for factual accuracy, we will miss stories and omit perspectives. No newsroom was ever omniscient or omnipresent, and a smaller staff means we will miss more. The council, as well as the breakfasts, will help us address what we miss.

Local journalism is more important now than ever. Recent studies of communities without local papers show that without their watchdog role, the costs of local government increase and the communities suffer.

The Ledger-Enquirer is a vital and essential part of this community. Remaining so requires change, and we hope you’ll join us on this journey.

Thank you for your support over the years. With your help, we will be around for another 190 years, striving to make life better for everyone in the Chattahoochee Valley.

This story was originally published November 22, 2018 at 12:00 PM.