EDITORIAL: Support our local newspapers!

We enjoy reading the local newspapers and worry when editions only contain 30 pages due to scant advertisements.

This isn't just a Lancaster problem. With printing and distribution costs skyrocketing and advertisers flocking to the Internet, newspapers across the country are experiencing serious declines. (The same applies to radio stations.) And now we face the likelihood of a recession.

The consolidation of the Intelligencer Journal and New Era on weekdays as on Saturdays seems inevitable and would not present a big problem. It is surprising this hasn't already happened, but management at the Lancaster Newspapers has not been competent over recent years.

Yet the publishers of the Lancaster Newspapers aren't totally unmindful of the trend. They are placing emphasis on www.LancasterOnLine.com . Perhaps ten or fifteen years in the future, the web site may replace print publication.

All regions need a daily source for local news, otherwise local institutions and causes would dry up and / or be taken over by self serving sources. Newspapers offer a variety of attractions, from comics to sports to editorials, and do (or at least should) convey important local information and encourage discussion.

www.NewsLanc.com also plays the important role of keeping the monopoly press on it toes and relatively honest. If we could attract a younger generation of reporters and editors, it someday could be fully competitive. It also needs more contributors and viewers. Please tell your friends.

So support our local newspapers. Let's keep them around as long as possible.