Bob Dylan said it and now we’re saying it.
As of Monday, a new era begins for the Trail Times. Yes I left out the “Daily” intentionally since the paper will discontinue its Monday issues in an effort to stay ahead of the reality of the economic times.
I feel I am often a reflection of Trail and vice versa. Maybe it’s because I’ve been tapped into our community for three decades. Maybe it’s because I’m growing older, much like the citizenship in Trail and admit that change isn’t always a welcomed thing.
I like things to stay the way they are. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. If people aren’t complaining then we’re doing something right.
Nevertheless you would have to be blind to not realize there is a new economic reality in our world. More so in the newspaper business.
Yet for every person that asks me if newspapers are dying a slow death, there’s another person quoting something they read in a newspaper.
People are still reading and our clients are still supporting us. That’s the good news.
Trail continues to support our publication and for that I thank you.
That support has helped many people at the newspaper establish a home and a life in the Home of Champions or throughout the West Kootenay.
That support is what brings us to work everyday with the goal of putting together the best paper possible on that day.
Trail has that effect on people.
Many newcomers are leery at first sight of the Silver City.
But once they get a taste of the community, the flavour of the lifestyle and the down-to-earth people with strong family ties, it doesn’t take long for them to don a Smokies jersey and chow down at the Colander.
That’s what is great about Trail. And that’s what has helped the Trail Times survive and thrive for over a century.
However, our viability also depends on the advertising content from national firms and that’s where the river is running dry.
The economic tightening that began four years ago on the world stage is finally filtering down to small towns. Nation-wide chains are closing outlets, restructuring and cutting costs, mainly advertising, to keep operations viable.
When Black Press purchased the Trail Times a few years ago, it gave it a vote of confidence and kept publication going full steam ahead while other less-productive operations were shut down.
I saw it as a pat on the back. I saw it as an acknowledgement that the Trail community supports its paper.
And it continues today, which is why the slight change in format is still a credit to the strong backing local businesses provide.
The change, in a sense, will also help me adapt even better to the new mode of communication over the Internet.
There might not be a Trail Times at your doorstep on Monday but simply visit our website and you’ll find the latest news at your fingertips.
Don’t have a computer? Don’t like computers? That’s fine too. Because the Trail Times will be back on your doorstep on Tuesday.
Admittedly it’s not the best scenario for a journalist.
As a writer you want to see that printed edition out there every day.
As a reader you want the texture and feel a newspaper provides when you open it up at the kitchen table.
Those things will still be available four days of the week.
And that’s our goal - to continue providing interesting and informative news and sports to our readers.
Be it online or in print, that will always be our goal.
Change is never easy or smooth. But I’m hoping the same support the people of Trail have given the Times in the last 117 years continues for another 117 years.