As our annual Support Local Journalism campaign winds down, I have the distinct honor of saying thank you.
Thank you, readers, for supporting the work we do week in and week out. We think the stories and advertising we share with you are important to our community. Both your donations and your lovely notes confirm that local news is important.
We love the encouraging letters and messages you send us. My favorite this year was when a newsmaker in our community slipped a generous donation into my hands. He quietly confided: “We have to keep the paper coming, don’t we?”
Yes, we do.
While it’s not too late to add your name to the list of readers who support the Leader financially, today I’m asking you to also consider supporting the work we do in other ways.
■ Support Leader advertisers. For more than three decades local businesses have stepped up week after week to share their stories, sales, specials and services through newspaper advertising. They make the Leader possible. Supporting them is the easiest way to shop locally and to keep our local newspaper strong.
■ Nominate and then vote for your favorites in our Best of Jefferson County contest. It’s a fun way to show some love to our local businesses.
■ Request the Leader. Every three years our mailing permit requires you to tell us you want to keep getting the Leader. It’s free.
■ Remind your friends, relatives and neighbors to request the Leader. We believe everyone needs the local newspaper to remain informed about what is happening in our hometown.
■ Buy advertising. We have lots of options at lots of price points, starting as low as $11. Do you wish someone would buy your extra vehicle or that table and chairs in your basement? Are you having a yard sale? Want to find someone to work for your business? Advertising helps match your needs with someone who can help.
■ Share your stories with us. We love to hear about the interesting things our neighbors are doing. Send an email. Drop us a note in the mail or stop by our office in Festus.
■ Write letters to the editor. We especially encourage you to express your opinions about local topics. Interesting things are happening right here right now. Tell us and your fellow readers your opinion. We do ask that letters remain civil and that you sign your name.
These steps help keep local news strong and our communities vibrant.
I promise you, Leader readers, we are doing everything in our power to keep sending the Leader newspaper to your mailbox every week for free. We remain local and fiercely independent thanks in part to your support.
But here is the hard truth: Local journalism is struggling across the country. When local news is gone, communities lose accountability, connection and trust. It’s important to remember that printing and mailing the paper costs real money. Reporting the news takes real people.
The Leader isn’t owned by a corporation. Local ownership means we depend on each other to deliver local news once a week and never weakly. This relationship includes local business owners, all our readers and the Leader’s team of professionals.
Local staff is one of the strengths of local news. We live and work right here in our community. We understand local issues because we experience the same things as you. Our homes, our children and grandchildren, our commutes on local roads, our taxes are impacted by local decisions.
We know that having reporters in the room where discussions take place and where decisions are made leads to better informed communities.
You know us. Our names are published each week in the paper. We are proud of the work we do. In case you are curious, we are sharing a group photo so you can recognize the faces behind the stories and advertising we send you each week.
As this year’s organized Support Local Journalism campaign draws to a close, we gratefully accept your support all year.
And, just as it did this week, your Leader will continue to arrive in your mailbox, free of charge.
Visit myleaderpaper.com/donate to learn more about the Leader's mission.