Within rumble of giants falling, another tale told

While at a community function, a long-time reader pleaded with me "Don't have the newspaper go to all internet. I so much love to hold the newspaper in my hand."
We had no intention of doing this. Still don't. But her alarm is symptomatic of what I'm hearing from others in the community who watch the news surrounding other newspapers. The closing of Rocky Mountain News, the Cincinnati Post and others. The bankruptcy filings of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and the Chicago Tribune and others. The conversion from print to online of Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Christian Science Monitor and others.
One would think ALL newspapers are going the way of the dinosaur. Without a doubt, the news business is evolving as it always does. And just as surely the major metropolitan newspapers -- especially those who have more than one serving the city -- are grabbing all the headlines and causing all the calamity.
But amid the cacophony of crashing sounds coming from giants falling, we are not hearing the smaller voice of community newspapers like The Free Press. That is until last week, when the Wall Street Journal finally recorded what the rest of us in the industry understood -- smaller newspapers are a different breed.
In the article headlined Investors Bet on Small-Market Papers, the author notes that "many smaller newspapers have retained their appeal to local advertisers seeking to reach customers who live and shop nearby."
And we work hard to keep costs low, many of our employees can handle multiple projects enabling us to work leaner and, unlike our bigger brethren in the big city, we tend to be closer to the community.
As the article points out "The formula for running a small-town newspaper would be familiar to any mom-and-pop business: No detail is too small and all business is personal."
And that is the case for many smaller papers. That's not to say we aren't hurting from this down economy the same as other businesses and we too have had to make difficult decisions and hard adjustments.
But we are not getting ready to turn out the lights and close the door. Nor go all online.
Once the economy bounces back, we will be here recording those events for you just as we have been here for you during these difficult times.
But we feel we are a reflection of our region and all of us have a very bright future ahead.