Like so many, I was shocked to learn on Thursday night that it was decided by the Los Angeles Times to close the local newspapers the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader and the La Cañada Valley Sun. The Times owned the three community newspapers.
The news jerked me back to the day in July 2009 when I learned that the newspaper that I was city editor of, the Crescenta Valley Sun, was going to be shuttered … and I would be out of a job. It, too, was owned by the “mother ship,” the LA Times, and I’m sure the decision to close it, like the other community newspapers, was driven by finances.
I know how hard it is to operate a community newspaper and COVID-19 did nothing to make things easier. When the pandemic hit, we immediately lost advertisers, a chief source of our revenue, because many had to hunker down to wait out this disaster or, worse yet, close their doors permanently. I had to decide whether to close temporarily, close permanently or put on my “warrior gear” and try to stay open.
Not surprisingly, my staff – loyal as any one you could find – quickly said to keep our doors open. Mary O’Keefe, who I was with when I found out the three papers were to close, said she’d write for free (thank God she hasn’t had to do that); heck, we could even deliver the papers ourselves. (A side note – my pitching arm is not any good; I’ve tried delivering the papers in the past and it was an ugly display.) Ultimately I took to heart the words of the people who rallied around me that “sink or swim,” we’d do it together. So I kept open our doors.
Not one day has passed that I’ve regretted that decision.
Readers have sent money, cards of support and emails of encouragement. Our subscriber numbers have rocketed. In brief, the outpouring of support has been immeasurable.
I was particularly pleased when former CV Weekly columnist Jim Chase sent me a note from Montana where he moved years ago.
“Wow! That’s huge news … hard to imagine,” Jim wrote. “And although I know you don’t celebrate the loss of even more newspapers, you must be thankful that you made the leap and took the risk to start the CV Weekly years ago. What an opportunity you have to fill some gaping holes in local coverage.”
He’s right. We look forward to continuing what we do best: providing reliable, trustworthy information to our readers. Understanding that a portion of La Crescenta is governed by the City of Glendale, we have always tried to include news of the City in our weekly paper and we are also eager to look to the east to La Cañada to share some of their happenings with our readers.
So while the Crescenta Valley Weekly is unique, so are unicorns – and everyone loves them.