By Nate Abraham Jr. COMMENTARY
In April, I was installed as the president of the South Carolina Press Association. It is a challenging time in the newspaper industry. Shortly after the ceremony, a newspaper in Spartanburg County announced that it was closing after being in business for over 100 years.
A few months ago, The State newspaper announced that it was only going to be published three days a week, down from six. Subscribers were encouraged to read the newspaper online the other four days a week. In addition, it would be delivered by mail carriers in the afternoon instead of carriers in the morning. The first day I was supposed to receive The State in the mail, I received a newspaper from Pinehurst, NC.
I used to enjoy reading the newspaper in the morning while eating breakfast. Getting the paper in the evening – if the post office even delivered it – didn’t work for me. My family has subscribed to The State for over 50 years. But I could not justify paying nearly $150 a month to get the newspaper only three days a week. I cancelled my subscription.
Since 2005, nearly 2,900 newspapers have closed across the United States. The loss of local newspapers accelerated in 2023 to an average of 2.5 closures per week. There were more than
130 confirmed newspaper closings or mergers in 2023 alone.
On the other hand, there are still over 6,000 newspapers in the United States, including over 200 aimed at African-Americans. We are proud to be one of them – and to have served the community for over 38 years.
At times, it has been challenging. But we are committed to fulfilling our mission of keeping the community informed.
We appreciate the expressions of support and thanks for the work we do. People frequently ask us how they can help, and I usually reply, “Just keep us in your prayers.”
But the more I think about it, there are other ways you can help. In order to survive, we need to diversify our revenue. Gone are the days when newspapers could rely only on print advertising to fund journalism. Newspapers across America are racing to develop new revenue sources, and so are we.
So how can you help? If you are hosting an event, in addition to sending us an announcement, please list your event and sell tickets through our Carolina Box Office platform (www.CarolinaBoxOffice.com). It has far more features and benefits than other ticketing portals, and it includes event promotion in our newspapers and networks.
If you, or anyone you know,
need a new website, let us know. We can build a website for your company without any upfront costs. You don’t have to pay until you approve of it.
In addition, we are launching a website incentive plan. If you refer a client who purchases a website from us, we will pay you $100. Refer ten paying clients, we will give you an additional $500 bonus. Call us at (803) 256- 4015 to get started as an affiliate.
If you need a 15- or 30-second commercial or promotional video, we can help as well. Give us a call for more information.
For small business owners, we are offering a special for business card size ads. To celebrate our 39th year, you can purchase a business card size ad for $390 for 13 weeks. That is a savings of nearly 50 percent.
And finally, you can also join the ranks of people who make a regular donation to support our journalism. Visit www.carolinapanorama.com/contribute/ or www.lowcountrypanorama com/site/forms/online_services/ donations/ to make your donation today. You can also donate via checks.
Over the past four decades, we have overcome many obstacles to serve our community. With your help, we will continue to serve you for the next four decades.