Commentary

Posted in: Commentary
Commentary: Rumors of Death
By Mitch Traphagen
Jul 31, 2008 - 8:18:50 PM

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Apparently I caused a bit of a stir last week with my commentary that mentioned not earning enough business to stay in business.  It is true - so far, the East Iowa Herald has  only rarely crossed into the black and each week seems to present new challenges.  Subscribers are growing much faster than advertisers - both are necessary but in the end, it is the advertisers that allow the paper to be printed each week.

The Herald is a small town newspaper.  It is owned by my wife and I and we live in Marengo with a bunch of dogs that were at one time strays but now appreciate the subtle nuances found in sleeping on our furniture.  With the exception of the weekly weather forecast, nothing is outsourced at this newspaper.  I buy the office supplies locally, I buy what high-end camera and computer equipment I can locally - even the writers are local:  Laura Timm lives in Marengo, Joe Simmons in Victor, Ron Pexa in Guernsey, Susie Turnbull and Pastor Doug Morton in Marengo and Wayne Shaull in Ladora.

As for the weather forecast, the only reason it is outsourced is because I couldn’t find an American company willing to do the job.  As a result, I turned to a couple of bright, well-educated and resourceful meteorologists in British Columbia.  Besides, Canada is kind of like another state, right?

Producing a newspaper isn’t like producing a product that is bound for a store shelf.  Our profit is indirect and comes only after we fulfill our first obligation - which is to our readers.  It’s an odd business in that the people that pay us take the backseat.  In each and every case, serving the readers is our priority.  Once that is met, we can bend over backwards to ensure that we provide our advertisers with the best possible value and service.  But the readers always come first.

The truth be told, this newspaper is running on the declining good graces of my credit card.  But I’m not insane - I know things will work out for the Herald.  I don’t have to follow the directives of a faceless East Coast corporation.  As such, I can set the prices for advertising and classifieds at a rate that small businesses can afford because if this paper doesn’t do that, then how will so many of our small businesses afford to get the word out about what they are doing?  Things will just have to work out.

And know that they will because I spent much of the night and into the early morning hours emailing back and forth with journalist Laura Timm, all the while with me thinking she was working late comfortably at home only to find out that she was still in the office.  I know it will work out because she sent me a feature article that I not only read but could actually see and feel as well.  

I know it will work out because Susie Turnbull wondered what to write this week when in reality every week she becomes more popular both in print and on our Website telling stories about everything from weed whacking her entire lawn to run-ins with anti-social possums.  She tells the stories that make people think, “yeah, that’s what I think, too!”

I know it will work out because each week I read Pastor Doug Morton and, when finished, realize that within his words, the path of my life has become just a little more clear.  

I know it will work out because I laugh or think when I edit Wayne Shaull’s memories.  I’m still laughing about the hunting jacket and the naked woman in the closet.  I’m still thinking about the marble from the soda fountain from Wayne’s store serving as a tombstone for a woman in the Ladora Cemetery.

I know it will work out because Ron Pexa is not only a living encyclopedia of sports and the rules thereof, he actually takes considerable time to research current events and the questions that people ask of him.  

I know it will work out because Joe Simmons knows everyone and everything involved in HLV sports and, win or lose, the Little School that Could is continually giving the town and the entire area something to cheer about.  

I know it will work out because someone stopped by my office today hoping to help by insisting upon paying for an obituary.  He left with the knowledge that, as owner of this newspaper, I consider obituaries - the documenting of a life - the most important thing that a newspaper can do and under no circumstances should anyone pay for what is my most basic responsibility.   

I know it will work out because every day when I open my post office box there are new subscriptions from my neighbors - many of whom I haven’t met yet but hope to someday.
I know it will work out because each week I learn a little more about this wonderful place simply by running a photo in a little feature called “Where in East Iowa.”

I know it will work out because each and every one of the advertisers in this newspaper tries to put the communities in which they live and their neighbors first.  

I know it will work out because they are willing to risk their dollars on a new, small, locally-owned newspaper that doesn’t have a fraction of the funds and resources of the corporate-owned newspapers.

I know it will work out because I have absolute faith that our small towns will be even stronger and more vibrant next year and in ten years than they are today because the people who live here really, truly care about their towns and their neighbors and people they have never even met.

I know it will work out because people like Leonard Seda, Duke Wilgenbush, Lorne Koenig, Charles Capper, Fred Stiefel, Mike Heitmann, Edna Hedlund, Garth Grafft, Tom Sandersfeld and many others work quietly behind the scenes to make our communities stronger.

I know it will work out because people in this part of Iowa ask, “How can I help,” rather than “What’s in it for me?”

I know things will work out because of the letters, emails and comments we have received.  Thank you for that.

I know it will work out because Ward Meyer stops by my office each day and kids from HLV always wave or honk when they drive by.

On that note, I know things will work out because you have raised some of the most amazing kids I have ever seen.  In most places I’ve been around the country, such kids are the exception rather than the rule.  Living here and meeting the young people here has restored my faith.  I now know that we’ll be OK - hopefully the newspaper will be OK, too.  And in the end, if it does work out, it will be because of you.  I am truly grateful to you for giving us a chance.



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