Supporting the newspaper so the newspaper supports you

In my previous article, I talked about how your local newspaper supports you by providing the vital information you receive on a weekly basis. I also mentioned how the paper provides oversight where your tax dollars are concerned and serves as a catalogue of the history of our community. This service is brought to you by our staff who work late hours to make sure our community gets the news it needs.

Even though we seemingly live in a time in history where you can get the information you need online for free, we believe that what you are getting with the Sun and the Journal is premium content that is produced by paid professionals. Even though YouTube is free, you still pay for Netflix or Hulu. We feel like this is the same thing.

For these reasons, we need your help. It is easy to pay for one newspaper and pass it around five times or dropping one dollar in the newspaper machine and taking more than what you paid for.

We try to make the newspaper reasonable enough for everyone in a home to purchase a copy. The small cost you pay barely covers the cost of production and mailing. By subscribing to the Atlanta Citizens Journal and/or the Cass County Sun you help us tell advertisers that we have a lot of people reading the paper, therefore they want to advertise. With this in mind we are asking that you purchase your own copy and maybe even give the gift of news to friends and family.

To our advertisers, I know we are in crazy times. We are truly with you. However, I do believe now is the best time to advertise in the paper. Since we are sheltering in place, you now have a captive audience. Your neighbors are reading the newspaper more now than ever.

By getting your product information out now, people will know where they want to go and what they want to do with their stimulus checks in hand once the smoke clears and we are no longer sheltering. At the very least you should put a small ad in the paper giving your customers an update of hours and changes.

To our general audience, you can help support your local newspaper by placing ads such as a special greeting, thank you, wedding, anniversary, congratulation, and birthday.

By doing so, you not only support your local newspaper, but you let your loved one know how important they are. You are giving the gift of becoming a part of Atlanta’s historical record which will long survive a greeting card and distinctively more significant than a Facebook post or free online greeting.

Lastly, we can work together by producing special content that you, the reader, want to see in the newspaper. For example, if you would like to see a page that features county minutes or a regular column that gives information on animal or human health, support us through sponsorship.

We will work with you to produce well-informed, ethically sound content. We can also work with you to distribute newsletters for your company or organization.

Please call Shawn Larson at 903-796-7133.