Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 1 of 3 · from the scan, no model involved
THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2009
Folding papers
Since the advent of the Internet, newspapers slowrly
have been losing ground. Add to that the current
economic climate and that retreat has turned into a rout as major newspapers in big cities are going out of business on a weekly basis.
Community newspapers are taking a hit as well although they are much better positioned to cope with the times.
Our newspaper, like any business facing declining revenue, has had to make significant cuts too. Although our readership is strong - covering the events that affect our community is still an important responsibility and our readers count on that - we have had to keep up with the news of this county with less.
As our county cuts back in small ways and large, so too have we.
We also have had to cover our community with fewer reporters in a smaller time frame. Unfortunately, not everything gets the attention it merits. Sadly, many of our schools’ sports events do not always get the attention they deserve, some community events go uncovered.
But the importance of a newspaper in a community such as ours still remains. Newspapers are the ‘fourth estate’, the independent fourth branch of vibrant democratic government; the watchdog, the arbiter of opinion. And of course, the press is the traditional advocate of free speech.
We hope that our readers and business partners continue to value the importance of the press in community, and that our little newspaper will endure and thrive along with our beautiful community here in Rappahannock County.
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