Once again, your community newspaper has been certified as “The Best Little Newspaper In Texas” by winning the Sweepstakes Award for small weeklies from the Texas Press Association.
The Clarendon Enterprise is proud to claim that title as the laurels resulting from the hard work that goes into our publication week after week. It’s a tradition that dates back 145 years – delivering the news the people of Donley County want and need while recording the history of our local communities.
Past longevity, however, is no guarantee of future success. For our news organization to survive to its 150th anniversary and beyond, we have to embrace technology and new ideas while still delivering the news.
When we reported winning the TPA Sweepstakes Award last year, we had also learned that The Iowa Park Leader had closed its doors that same week. A few months ago, we delivered the sad news that The Canadian Record was suspending publication, and this week we learned The Ozona Stockman in Crocket County is closing this month.
These weekly newspapers were among the best in the state. Although they each closed for different reasons, their communities now share the distinction of being part of the growing news deserts appearing in rural America – places where there is no press to report the news, to keep watch on local governments, and to record their peoples’ history.
We don’t have a crystal ball to see our future, but we are determined to fight like hell to keep publishing your newspaper. Our community needs it. You need it. And we’re going to utilize every possible tool to keep spreading the word just as we have done since 1878.
Last summer, we were given an opportunity to apply for a program to help small news organizations adapt and embrace new technology. We had participated in small workshops from the Google News Initiative – an effort from the tech giant to help small- and medium-size news publishers. The GNI Foundations Lab was going to be different though. It would give us access to resources we could never afford and put industry experts in our corner as we figure out how to navigate the future of news publishing.
The application was a longshot, but we filled it out and sent up a prayer. When word finally came last fall that the Enterprise had been selected for the lab, we realized what a unique opportunity this was. There were only 34 lab participants in the Western hemisphere, 14 in the US, and two in Texas.
It would be impossible to list everything we learned from the lab over a nine-month period. It was like drinking from a firehose, and we’re still trying to process some of the information. Much of it was technical information, but, in a nutshell, it was about how to effectively deliver the news in a digital format in ways that – hopefully – you, our readers, will appreciate and support and thus create sustainable news business for an ever-changing world.
As we go forward, we know that ultimately the keys to our success are still dependent on two things – business and organizations willing to back us with their advertising dollars and readers willing to buy subscriptions. We’ve been blessed in those terms for a century and a half, and we will continue to work to be worthy of that even as we implement the ideas that sprang from the GNI lab.
The TPA contest proves the Enterprise is a leader among weekly newspapers in the state when it comes to providing digital news coverage and printed news coverage. We’re not going to change that. Instead, we’re going to keep bringing you the news you need and want whether it’s on paper or on your phone. With Google’s help, we’re going to be reaching even more people with the news and bringing more attention to what’s happening here in terms of education, business, life, and culture.
You can help your local newspaper in the same way you always have. Buy a subscription for yourself, for a friend, and for a family member. Patronize our advertisers and tell them you saw their ad in the Enterprise. Send us news tips and photos. Encourage your friends to read the Enterprise either in print, on the web, or on social media. When it’s time for your fundraiser, don’t ask us to just run a blurb for free but instead include us in your advertising budget. At the end of the day, the future of your hometown newspaper is in your hands as much or more than it is in ours.
Meanwhile…
Your editor would be remiss if he missed this opportunity to thank those who are responsible for the success of the Enterprise. Our senior staff – Tara Allred assisted by Ashlee Estlack (in her free time) – is second to none, and our junior staff – Ben and Ella Estlack – fill in wherever necessary and play important roles with columns and photos. And then there are our freelancers and contributors – Sandy Anderberg, Kari Lindsey, Lisa Grahn, and Adelita Elam – each of whom makes my job easier and provides us with photos and information to make this paper truly the best in the state. Thank you all and thank you also to our advertisers and readers. We couldn’t do it without you.
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