By Diane Kortus
This week marks a bellwether occasion for our company. For the first time ever, today’s paper includes the weekly circular from Publix Supermarket, the No. 1 grocer in Florida that has 11 stores in our market area from Lutz to Zephyrhills.
Landing the Publix account is good news for everyone. It brings Publix 80,000 readers in subdivisions surrounding its stores in Pasco and north Hillsborough counties. It prepares readers for Publix’s specials a day before its Thursday sales begin. And for the staff of The Laker and Lutz News, it means a premier account to toot our horn.
I hope you don’t mind my boasting of the addition of Publix to our customer list. I share this with you not to pump our egos or to be self-congratulatory, but because I want you to know that community papers are doing well and have a positive future.
Tooting our horn is something newspapers do not do enough of these days. Our industry seems to delight in reporting decreasing circulation and sales, as if we are the only advertising-driven business model that is facing decreased revenue and reduced audiences. Television, radio, cable TV, magazines, even on-line advertising are all seeing diminishing numbers. Unfortunately, newspapers seem to willingly take the brunt of the blame for problems all media outlets are facing.
It may surprise you to learn that community newspapers are the bright spot in our industry. Two trade organizations, The National Newspaper Association and Suburban Newspapers of America, report that weekly newspapers have been affected much less by the country’s economic problems than daily papers.
“Community newspapers certainly are not immune to the economic downturn that is affecting all businesses, but as the primary and sometimes sole provider of local news in a community, they remain strong and viable,” said NNA President John Stevenson, publisher of the Randolph Leader in Roanoke, AL.
Major retailers like Publix are starting to experience what local businesses in Lutz, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and Dade City have always known. You can’t beat the local paper for hometown news and advertising efficiency.
It is our abundance of local news that sets apart The Laker and Lutz News in our market. We dedicate 60 pages every week to stories about local people, local businesses, local groups, local sports and local events. The key word here, obviously, is local.
And local is why Publix added us to their family — because no one penetrates deeper into our communities than The Laker and The Lutz News with local news and effective circulation.
As publisher, I can tell you that getting the Publix account feels a bit like our coming of age. It legitimizes our hard work of the past few years to bring you a well-written newspaper every week with stories and advertisements that make life here a little bit easier, more enjoyable and hopefully more interesting.
Please join me in welcoming Publix to The Laker and Lutz News, where (to adapt Publix’s iconic tagline), we hope “reading is a pleasure” every week.
