Keeping the printed word in Ned

As you will notice, the Mountain-Ear is four pages shorter this week,  down from 24 to 20.

Going backwards is not something a newspaper likes to do, but we are  struggling to continue printing the news in our community. With rising  postal rates and print rates, we have to figure out ways to cut back on overhead and keep our incredible staff employed.

A newspaper needs 35 percent advertising to pay for its printing and overhead each week. We are only receiving enough advertising to pay  for 20 pages. This will mean a decline in the amount of space for  stories and pictures.

We hate to see this happening. It is like things starting to go wrong in your vehicle. If you can’t afford to fix them, other parts will break down and soon the damage is irrevocable.

The newspaper needs a lift and in its quest to remain a viable source  of information in the Nederland and Gilpin County area, we seek community support.

We all love working for the paper and for you, our readers; and want to keep the Mountain-Ear alive. We have new owners and dedicated staff  that are all from our mountain community. We are changing the way  things work internally as well as how you get your newspaper.

We now  offer complete online subscriptions, which saves on print fees and delivers the news to you the day it goes to press.

Paying advertising bills on time would help. We have two new salespeople who are working to get new advertisers in town and in the home businesses. This may not be your marketing range, but keeping the newspapers coming every week adds to your lifestyle. Advertising is tax deductible.

We publish stories about your children, the events in town, and news that will go down in our history. If we lose our source of local information, we lose much of the  integrity of the community.

Besides, helping the paper could be a lot of fun.