Last week a comment was made on our Facebook page that I feel needs to be addressed. We believe strongly that everyone has the right to have an opinion. And a lot of social media is about expressing those opinions. However, when an opinion is based on a flawed perception, I feel that we can’t let it stand unanswered.
The comment is not something that can be printed here, but it basically said that we only run this paper for the money, and unsaid, but asserted, we don’t care anything about the community or what we do other than for the money.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. This newspaper is a labor of love. It is a small, woman-owned community paper. We do not own a printing press. We are also not owned by a company that owns a printing press. What this means is that we have to outsource our printing to another company, which happens to be Walton Press in Monroe County. As anyone who works in print will tell you, the cost to produce a printed product is astronomical.
We have a lot of overhead in paying our small staff, and the cost to print a free, weekly paper that tries to highlight the good in our community. There are so many outlets to hear about all of the bad things that happen everyday. We believe in telling the stories of people in Henry County that perhaps, might not get told otherwise. We do the best we can (with limited resources) to provide a friendly, informative product that is brought to you online and in print, entirely for free (unless you opt to purchase a paid subscription, and for those that do, we thank you).
I don’t want you to think that I am merely complaining about financial woes as everyone has them. We are not special in that regard.
I love the stories that people bring to us, call us with, or communicate with us by email or social media. I love hearing about people helping others, when they could instead just help themselves and ignore others’ needs. I love hearing the clang of the newspaper box outside of our office each week as people pick up the newspaper. I feel that we provide a valuable service to the community and I enjoy being a small part of their week.
Paid advertising accounts for 99 percent of our revenue at the Times. I would like to take this opportunity to ask that if you have the means, consider marketing your business in our newspaper. You’ll receive good value for your money, help support an all-local product serving the Henry community and you’ll feel good about doing it.
I hope that we can all make it through this trying ordeal and stay as safe as possible. I hope things improve for us financially and that we are able to continue providing a free product for the people of Henry County. I wish you all the best and we thank you very much for continuing to read.
Well said, Seth. I don’t feel my week is complete unless I read The Henry County Times. You provide a public service by publishing the Senior Spirit and inserts about upcoming fundraising events for non-profit organizations which enhance the lives of others. I love to read articles about the history of Henry County. Your paper has high standards which the public appreciates.
Very well said sir. I enjoy the Henry As it Was part of the paper that brings back some good memories.
Seth, I don’t know what we would do without the ray of sunshine the Times brings us every week! Thank you all for finding the good things to focus on in our home county. We started talking about Need, and there was Frank Hancock’s column waiting for us. Wondering about a book? There’s Kaye West with her most recent read. And you, Seth, you remind us about community. Thank you!
Great response, Seth….Some people just “don’t get it”, and regretfully, never will. They can’t grasp what makes your paper so unique in these times of corporate and global control of most news outlets. I love the Times as much as I love Henry County, and that’s a lot. We almost lost you once, hope we never get that close again! Mike Elrod
I enjoy reading the Henry Times each week. It is a great local newspaper. Most of the stories you will never see anywhere else. Thanks for the effort each week. It’s a great product. As for as only in it for the money, much of print media is closing up these days. Thanks again and I look forward to it each week. The fact that it was named after me also peaks my interest! LOL!
The Henry County Times is one of the great local papers. I have commented in the past about what I know about the NY papers and some Georgia papers. But I give you, Mickie and Nick a thousand Stars for being honest and forthright and printing things even you do not like. Freedom of the press is essential to freedom of speech and it is papers like the Henry County Times that keeps freedom of speech alive. We are fortunate to have you all in Henry County. If all papers were so honest and free like the HCT, this would be a better country. Thanks for all your hard work.