This week I reported on a local newspaper trying to survive as impacts from the recession continue to kick it hard everywhere except its highly-visited website. The Snowmass Sun has fewer advertisements and classified ads mostly because of the slow-down of the local real estate market. The editorial staff has gone from three to one and the paper no longer has an office--the lone reporter works from her home, Snowmass Town Hall and the Sun's sister paper's office in Aspen. The reporter, who is also the editor, is quick to say the Sun will continue to be printed for years to come, but she expects web use to increase too.
A New York Times article posted to the web in April says newspaper print circulation dropped more than 7 percent compared with the previous year, while newspaper Web site audiences had increased 10.5 percent in the first quarter. These figures come from the top newspapers in the country, but local papers are not immune. As papers such as the Aspen Times, Glenwood Springs Post Independent, and Snowmass Sun cut costs this year, attention to the web must be paid because, just as Snowmass Village Mayor Bill Boineau recently pointed out, the news provides checks and balances on government. He said the Sun's role in the community is essential.
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