Dear Readers:
Welcome to a new chapter for The Monitor.
You’ve probably noticed that, with this issue, your paper is now larger — a full 21.5 inches tall. This was brought about by global economics and evolving production requirements. (Basically, the world is running short on the smaller, tabloid-size paper we’ve printed on for decades.) The bigger sheet will allow for slightly more news content each week, as well as greater design flexibility — and it still fits neatly into your post office box.
But that’s actually the least of the changes we’re introducing this week. More importantly, after 117 years, we are changing the name at the top of this page. The Boulder Monitor has become, simply, The Monitor.
I’ll admit this was a tough one: History tugs at me, and I appreciate the soul-level connection between a newspaper and its geography. But the reality is that this paper now is read by many more people outside Boulder than in it. Our new banner reflects this changed audience and our ongoing efforts to reflect and serve more of Jefferson County.
I pledge to our Boulder readers that The Monitor’s coverage of the city will not wane. We still will hang on Mayor Rusty Giulio’s every word at City Council meetings. We will continue to document Main Street’s grinding evolution. Our team at 104 West Centennial isn’t going anywhere.
Finally, we are asking you to pay more. A mailed subscription to The Monitor’s print edition now costs $75, and a digital subscription is $60. All subscriptions now include our emailed PDF paper each week, for those who want it, and full access to our website, boulder-monitor.com.
All of this, and more that I hope will follow, is the result of research and soul-searching aimed at keeping The Monitor viable. As I wrote in December, although our circulation has increased by 50% in the five years we’ve owned it — thank you! — The Monitor continues to lose a lot of money. That begs the question, faced by news organizations everywhere, of how it will survive over the long haul.
Last year, we convened a series of focus groups and individual interviews aimed at confronting that question. Those conversations confirmed our belief that The Monitor does, in fact, matter, providing an essential watchdog function and, at its best (as our mission statement says), helping people navigate their shared future. Folks gave us permission, even encouragement, to think boldly about what The Monitor’s own future might look like.
One option we considered was killing off the print newspaper and moving to the all-digital model that has provided a path to survival for many of our journalism peers. Without the expense of paper and postage, the economics of news become much more forgiving.
We asked you, our readers, about that possibility in our annual survey last February, and the results were, well, challenging. Half of you replied, essentially: Sure, go digital, and take us with you. The other half said — and this is the polite version – no &#*$ way. Many of you aren’t online and can’t or don’t care to go there. “Taking our paper away is ridiculous,” wrote one miffed subscriber.
So, we asked a second question: How much would you pay to keep The Monitor’s print edition? That outcome was clearer: Most people were willing to pay more — and some, quite a bit more. When it came down to it, it seemed, the paper was more valuable to you than we had imagined.
That response was, I think, both generous and far-sighted. There is a difference between consuming news that is reported by journalists and, say, reading something on Facebook, consuming politically partisan neo-news or hearing gossip from your neighbor.
Done well, community journalism operates at the heart of civic life. It gets past rumor to unearth the facts: What actually happened, and who is accountable? And it contextualizes those facts to help people understand what the news means — how and why it matters, and how people might respond with constructive discussion and action.
Which is why local journalism is important and worth paying for.
We’ve decided to lean into that finding, and to continue investing with you in local journalism — and, not incidentally, in paper. I’m grateful to the many people who have helped us reach this point, and to all of you who continue to support our efforts.
Keith Hammonds is publisher of The Monitor. Contact him at keith@boulder-monitor.com.
