Ain’t Goin’ Anywhere

On Sunday, Mary O’Keefe and I were on a radio show – the Body Politic. Don’t be fooled by the name, though; the Body Politic isn’t about politics but instead host Suzanne Marcus-Fletcher is doing a series on mental health disorders and addiction. The show was an hour long and, to be honest, Mary carried the bulk of it. She shared important information on the resources she’s discovered in helping kids who are either dabbling in or addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. (To hear the interview, scan the QR code or visit www.cvweekly.com/NEWS.)

As we walked out to Cheryl Davis’ car (Cheryl volunteered to be chauffeur for the excursion), Suzanne – a longtime journalist – asked me about the paper. She was curious about it and asked a question I have often heard these past five years: Aren’t papers on their way out?

I chuckled and explained that, while the big name newspapers may be having an identity crisis in a rapidly changing market,  community papers like the CV Weekly were thriving. The subject of online news also came up. I told Suzanne that, in my opinion, newspapers didn’t have to worry. As an example, I explained that when an error is made in a traditional print paper and 35,000-plus people have read it (as with the CV Weekly) the same 35,000-plus people will read the correction printed in the following week’s paper. That’s not the case with online news. After all, how many times have you returned to an article that you’ve already read online? So when some misinformation is put out into cyberspace, what chance is there that a correction will be read?

While many businesses understand this and support newspapers with advertising dollars, I’m still surprised by questions I am sometimes asked. After our beautiful Discover magazine hit the stands, I received an email from a reader who questioned why there were so few Foothill Boulevard businesses advertising in the magazine.

“Businesses must know they have to budget for advertising,” she wrote.

Unfortunately, no, they don’t. And they’re missing out. Thankfully, when they’re ready to let their friends and neighbors know what they have to offer, they’ll have to look no further than the CV Weekly. After all, we’re here to stay.

  robin goldsworthy