Pressure on the Press
by Kelvin Alexander Green
A startling event has shaken Weston’s quaint, self-contained community; an event profound in its implications, and unfortunate in its ramifications. The Weston Forum has ceased publication.
After 49 years of conscientious reporting on the on-goings of our small Connecticut town, The Weston Forum announced in its October 11th issue that it would cease publication. The HAN Network, which is responsible for The Weston Forum, stated that it will also stop printing The Redding Pilot and The Easton Courier, as well as its online website. Such a massive rescaling begs the question: Why?
In a public statement, publisher and CEO of the HAN Network, Martin V. Hersam, said that “Due to economic forces buffeting our industry… we just could not sustain a publishing business here any longer”. Although the company will continue to publish weekly newspapers covering Darien, New Canaan, Wilton, Ridgefield, Milford, Trumbull and Shelton, harsh economic realities have forced the HAN Network to dramatically downsize its business in the area. From merging coverage of Weston, Redding, and Easton into one publication, to streamlining their online presence, and finally dropping the towns entirely, the HAN Network is responding to “the recent volatility of the newsprint market”. Indeed, the entire newspaper industry has been upended in recent years. Debates surrounding the accuracy and impartiality of the press and the role of this time-honored institution in a technologically evolving and digitized world have sparked many controversies and discussions. But the most pressing concern in the eyes of the newspaper printing business is simple. People are not reading the paper anymore.
Mr. Hersam explains that despite the “best efforts” of employees and “years of strategic planning, retooling and restructuring, we could not overcome the economic realities of tepid advertising and subscriber interest in this market.” He concluded: “Newspapering is a business we truly love and it saddens us to leave after such a long run. Unfortunately we could not operate at a financial loss here any longer.” Hersam isn’t the only one who is “saddened” by this turn of events. Without the local paper, how are WHS athletes and scholars to be recognized by our community for their accomplishments? How are the events pertinent to the community to be communicated? In a town numbering just over 10,000 residents, and a high school of about 850 students, what constitutes “news” in our area often involves the schools. It is this connection between the town and the schools which is now at risk. Without a local press what is to become of our community ties?
My concerns in this regard extend beyond those of a Westonite and WHS student. The press is essential to civil society. Our nation has evolved on the principle of informed democracy and thus, an informed electorate is the cornerstone of our entire political system. With the midterm elections approaching, these issues form a point of significant concern. How are local politicians supposed to connect with voters without the aid of local newspapers to spread their message? Although we still have The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, these national papers cannot capture, or speak directly to, Weston’s unique personality.
It will now be up to residents to seek information pertinent to our community independent of a local printed press. We will have work harder to learn about town events, school initiatives, and community gatherings. But most of all, we shall have to reach out to each other in order to maintain the bonds that bind Westonites together as a community.