It's not dead...it's dying

In my hometown of Dunwoody, GA there are 3 local newspapers but the largest is The Crier. You’d think as a journalist that I would regularly read the newspaper. You would be wrong. The only time I ever read the paper was when my cross country team was in it (narcissistic, I know). I want to know what’s going on around me but I never found myself reaching for what I viewed as the “old people’s news.” The stories covered almost always had nothing to do with things affecting me or things I would be interested. That being said, 23,000, that’s half the population of Dunwoody, people read the Crier so there must be some redeeming qualities, right? I suppose adults and older people might like it but the obvious bias put a bad taste in my mouth. I attended a public high school and it was apparent that the Crier had some sort of affiliation with private schools in the county based on the way that they covered and wrote their stories. 

Apart from simply not being a fan of the newspaper, I also found a better alternative. A woman in my neighborhood started up a website called the ‘Aha! Connection.’ It contains many of the same aspects that the newspaper does but it is organized into a format that it much easier to read and is more relevant. It features upcoming events, real estate listings, pet adoptions and community announcements much like other publications. However, the Aha! Connection has local business recommendations, classifieds that are open to anyone to submit (with a price much lower than a newspaper), book recommendations, garage sale announcements, special deals for local businesses, and much more. They’re connected through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. They also send out a weekly email blast to subscribers with the most important news, events, and offers of the week. I have personally found out about many more events from the Aha! Connection that I ever did from the newspaper. It’s relevant and current and frankly, it’s more fun. In comparison, The Crier and even the website for the Crier, seem dated and drab. 

In this day and age, publications have to adapt to stay current otherwise they fall behind and disappear into oblivion.