Our View: A new era for Havre

Change is never easy and yet it is the only constant in life. This week, we close the chapter on the Havre Daily News and open a new one as the Havre Weekly Chronicle.

Before we go into what this change will mean, we would like to explain what this change does not mean. It does not mean this newspaper is close to closing.

Switching from a daily to a weekly means giving your community newspaper an opportunity for long-term sustainability and viability. A newspaper is no different than any other main street business. It needs community support to be able to sustain itself and provide the service it does. How does that happen? For starters, it begins with readers like you who have loyally subscribed and advertisers who have trusted us to help grow their business.

Unfortunately, over the years, Havre Daily News has seen a loss of both subscribers and advertisers. In some ways, the digital age has been the cause of this. Today, one can find 24/7 news on either their television or satellite radio or find it at a touch of a button on their computer, tablet and smartphone.

Readers will still be able to find coverage of council meetings, commissioner meetings and school board meetings in the newspaper. They will also continue to find coverage of high school and Montana State University-Northern sports as well as coverage of the many, many community events in and around Havre.

Even as we move to a weekly publication, breaking news will still be published to the website to keep our readers informed as situations develop.

To be sure, this was an incredibly difficult decision. As other daily newspapers in much larger markets laid off staff and reduced publication days, we continued to push for a daily newspaper on the Hi-Line. Still, over the past four years, revenues drastically declined due in part to the economic conditions on the Hi-Line. Last year, we suffered catastrophic press failures. In response, we invested nearly a quarter-million dollars in infrastructure. An updated press, upgraded computer-to-press machines and new rollers are just some of the investments made to try to ensure a printing press and daily newspaper remained on the Hi-Line.

Amidst all this, struggled to recruit quality staff. For well over a year, we worked to try and bring reporters to the area. As the remaining staff worked day-after-day to produce a newspaper, it became clear we needed to make a change. Producing a daily newspaper is tremendously work intensive for our very small staff.

Moving from a daily to a weekly publication offers a more sustainable model in today’s digital landscape. It allows us to better allocate resources, ensuring a more robust and enduring presence within the community.

Moreover, advertisers can now benefit from longer exposure, as their ads enjoy a longer shelf-life in our weekly editions compared to the fleeting nature of social media promotions.

In terms of content, the weekly format enables us to delve deeper into local stories, providing more comprehensive coverage of community events, government issues and human-interest features. This shift allows for greater editorial planning and ensures that no important story goes untold.

Despite the challenges faced, such as declining revenues and difficulties in staffing, this transition represents a necessary step towards maintaining the quality of our newspaper and improving the work environment for our team.

While some may understandably have reservations about this change, we believe it will ultimately prove

We understand some readers are not happy with this decision. We ask you to give the Havre Weekly Chronicle a chance and prove to you that while this change is difficult, it was necessary and may very well prove to be beneficial to the community.