Despite changes, our mission remains the same

Published 9:05 am Friday, April 10, 2020

In the weeks since the coronavirus pandemic has begun spreading across the U.S., a lot has changed.

Businesses deemed non-essential have been forced to close their doors. As people follow directives to stay home unless absolutely necessary, foot traffic has slowed even to essential businesses, leaving locally owned businesses to either drastically cut hours or close their doors temporarily.

Public services have transitioned to online models, local governments and courts are meeting virtually, and healthcare workers are working around the clock to take care of patients afflicted by COVID-19.

Through all of these changes, readers across northeast Tennessee have turned to Elizabethton Star news sources to stay informed. As information is flying fast and furiously in these unprecedented times, our news team has worked hard to deliver trusted, accurate information as quickly as it develops.

From more somber news as confirmed cases increase to heartwarming stories of citizens working to take care of their neighbors, we have continued to serve you.

As we shift our print cycle to two days per week, readers should not expect any change in the amount of information shared. Our commitment to telling the news as it happens remains our priority; all that changes is the medium and cycle in which we share it.

Reducing the frequency of the printed newspaper was a necessary response to decreased advertising as businesses face increased challenges. Following orders to stay home, many people have stopped going to newspaper boxes to purchase newspapers, resulting in reduced revenue across the board.

Meanwhile, traffic to our website has never been better. From the safety of their homes, our readers are reading the news online now more than ever, tracking live updates, breaking news and powerful features on good work being done. This, coupled with the decreased revenue, led to the difficult decision to shift our efforts and decrease the number of printed newspapers published per week.

Elizabethton Star is not alone. At last count midweek, more than 1,000 newspapers in this country had reduced their print publication days, terminated or furloughed employees, cut employee compensation, or done some combination of all. We chose reduced print frequency as a strategy for keeping our journalists and support staff gainfully employed and compensated and serving you around the clock at elizabethton.com.

I’ll do my best to address your pressing questions here.

Will you charge me less for my subscription? If you prepaid for your subscription, you will receive the same number of editions you paid for, just over a longer period.

Is the change permanent? This was an urgent and direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related shutdown of the local economy. On the other side of this economic crisis, we will reevaluate the way we serve you in print. All along the way, we will work harder than ever to serve you online. It’s impossible to know at this time the shape and length of the economic recovery. In short, we will be adaptive.

Have you sought government or other external support? Our application was among the first submitted last week for the Payroll Protection Program, part of the most recent federal stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump. The program consists of forgivable loans to keep small businesses afloat and employees on the payroll. Like hundreds of thousands of other small businesses in this country, we eagerly await word on our application.

We understand loyal print subscribers may be saddened by this change, but we assure them the amount of content they receive will not decline. The two remaining print publications will be robust, packed full of all the features our readers love — and even more.

We are all navigating uncharted territory, adapting to changes every day while working to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. To get through these uncertain times, we must focus on coming together and moving forward. At Elizabethton Star, we know our role in that mission is to continue telling your stories and providing information as quickly as it is available.

Like so much else in our lives, Elizabethton Star’s approach to the way in which we share these stories will be different than before the pandemic. Through these changes, our commitment remains to inform northeast Tennessee, and we will continue to be your trusted source for local news.

Delaney Scalf is the General Manager at Elizabethton Star. He can be reached by phone at (423) 297-9063, or by email at delaney.scalf@elizabethton.com.