On the revenue side, we’ve applied for a share of the Google Journalism Emergency Relief Fund, which is intended to help small- to mid-size operations such as ours, and also the government programs available to all types of businesses. It will be a while before we hear if get any money.
But I think it will be our readers who will keep us going. I haven’t kept track of how many nice notes I have received from our readers over the past month, but I think it’s more than the cumulative total since I became the editor three years ago until the coronavirus crisis.
Retired Clark College journalism professor Dee Anne Finken and her husband, Dennis, had this to say:
“We are longtime subscribers of The Columbian (nearly 23 years now) and believe strongly that your publication does a top-notch job of ensuring Clark County and its surroundings are a quality place to work and live. Your staff does a yeoman’s job of informing us about issues and events. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, as Greg Jayne on Sunday quoted Joshua Benton of the Nieman Lab saying, The Columbian is one of ‘the little machines that spit out healthier democracies.’ Because of The Columbian, we have better local government.”
Reader Don Anglin wrote this: “I just wanted you and the rest of The Columbian staff to know how much I appreciate your continued efforts to report the news, both local and otherwise. The Columbian’s reporting and support for the community is one of the most valuable assets we have in a time like this. I have been reading The Columbian for at least 40 years, and I will continue to do so until I can’t read any more.”
Although the Finkins and Mr. Anglin didn’t buy ads, they asked a question I am getting fairly frequently: What can I do to help The Columbian financially?
Right now, the best answer is to buy a subscription and encourage your friends to do the same. Although we aren’t currently set up to take donations, it is a future possibility (last year, The Salt Lake Tribune became a not-for-profit company.) We’ve created a webpage to show you our options. It’s at www.columbian.com/support.
Since this crisis began, our digital subscriptions are up. I’m hopeful that this trend will continue. If you are a subscriber, thank you for your support. We’ll get through this together.