When The Columbian sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 1, a blogger was quick to announce our demise.
In fact — he had it on good authority, he told those following him — in just a couple of days we were to be sold on the courthouse steps.
Nine months later, we’ve emerged from Chapter 11. And if I were a betting man, I’d bet we’ll be around for a very long time.
Today’s a good day!
Not just for us but for the community as well. Every community should have a locally owned newspaper around. We not only cover the news here but we are part of the community. We live here and raise our children here.
So a good day, yes. But a great day? Not yet.
You see, the above blogger was onto something. No, we’re not going out of business. Far from it. But we ain’t sitting pretty either.
Building a new building — which was supposed to be our future home — was what got us into Chapter 11. Giving it back to the bank that financed it got us out of Chapter 11.
But a bad economy plus a wobbly advertising base for all media is still with us.
And until that all gets resolved, the word “great” won’t be used very often when we speak about media finances.
Let’s discuss the economy a little and how it relates to newspapers.
Obviously, a strong economy helps all of us. And we’d all love to see that. Newspapers have often been a direct reflection of the economy. So when the economy is strong, more consumers are buying. As consumers buy, more advertisers are interested in reaching those consumers. And advertisers reach those consumers — in large part — through newspapers.
But even after the economy strengthens, media companies will have to figure out this Web stuff. What do I mean by that?
The Columbian — and many other newspapers — are doing a pretty good job of figuring out content on the Web. We’ve invested a good chunk of money in this and it has paid off in terms of users and visits to the site.
There is no local Web site that gets more action than http://www.columbian.com. That says something.
But we have not figured out how to make the dang thing pay for itself. Simply put, no company can stay afloat with a business model that spends more money than it brings in. And if our Web was a separate company, its finances would not be pretty.
A few have suggested that we define “success” differently when it comes to the electronic media.
“There are lots of intangibles,” these folks would say.
And they’re right, of course.
But the more things we decide to define as successful because they have intangible benefits, the quicker you’ll end up in the poorhouse.
So here’s hoping advertisers see the dollar benefit of what we offer.
Be it print or the Web — or a combination of both, in our case — advertisers are basically looking for one thing. Eyeballs.
The more eyeballs an advertisement has, the better chance that ad has of making a sale.
And when you look at our print and our Web site, there is no local avenue that gets advertisers more eyeballs. Period.
ooo
But I don’t want to lose focus on what just happened here. We are out of Chapter 11!
So thanks to those of you who have supported us throughout this difficult process. And, yes, we also thank those who regularly question what we do.
And because we’ll be around for a long time: To those who challenge us on what we do and why we do it — well, you’ll have a place to voice all of that.
Here at The Columbian.
Lou Brancaccio is The Columbian’s editor. Reach him at 360-735-4505 or lou.brancaccio@columbian.com.
