Publisher's Notebook jarc www.jarc.org How The JN Unites Us T he economic environment impacting Southeastern Michigan has touched all parts of the Detroit Jewish community. Our families, businesses and communal institutions are under financial duress, with no bright light of recovery visible at the end of the tunnel. At the Jewish News, we have been impacted by a triple-whammy: a receding economy, a core industry — newspapers — that is imploding before our eyes, and shaky financial institutions that treat all print media properties as lepers. With the Detroit dailies heading to three-day-a-week home delivery, the Oakland Press and Macomb Daily in bankruptcy and Gannett Company, the parent of the Observer & Eccentric Group and the Detroit Free Press, cutting its shareholder dividends by 95 percent, the secular press is hemorrhaging readers and advertisers. As a niche publication serving a loyal audience still val- ued by advertisers, the Jewish News is insulated — slightly — from the pow- erful downward trends. Our quantity of advertising has declined, not a good thing when the amount of space avail- able for editorial content is tied to the amount of advertising. Our reader base is relatively stable and continues to reflect the overall Jewish community's demographic profile. In 2002, the Jewish News survived a devastating fire that burned its Southfield offices to the ground. With the stench of wet and burned lumber, paper and plastic still in their nostrils, the Jewish News staff rallied and pro- duced that week's issue — with our burning building on the cover — one day late. We were energized by your remarkable outpouring of concern and support. You reminded us that our work mattered. While our current office space is con- structed of bricks and steel and has a sprinkler system, we are confronting a different kind of vulnerability because of these economic and industry trends. Most communities support their Jewish periodical with subsidies, often from their annual Jewish federation fund- raising campaigns. In many of those communities, content is controlled by those federations. As an independent, for-profit entity, the Jewish News receives no subsidies. It relies on advertiser and subscrip- tion dollars. We have maintained our editorial and design quality while significantly reducing staff positions and over- head. For the fourth time in five years, the Michigan Press Association selected the Jewish News as the best publication in the state in its circulation category. Meanwhile, as a good citizen, we continued to partner with communal organiza- tions, giving them almost $200,000 worth of advertising in 2008 to help support their worthy causes. So during these challenging economic times, I ask that we all do our part to strengthen the glue that holds our corn- munity together — the Jewish News. Here's how: • Buy your goods and services from Jewish News advertis- ers whenever possible. These are mostly local businesspeo- ple. They are your neighbors, friends, former schoolmates and even family. By supporting them, you are supporting us. Tell them you saw their advertisement in the Jewish News. Spread it around ... don't buy everything at Costco, Walmart and Target. • Buy your own subscription to the Jewish News or pur- chase one for friends. There is a habit among some in our community to pass the same copy of the Jewish News to as many people as possible. Please, help us by breaking that habit and buying more subscriptions! • The cost to print and mail the Jewish News continues to grow while overall advertising volume is down. We will be asking our subscribers to shoulder a slightly larger share of the revenue needed to maintain our quality. Effective April 2, a one-year subscription to the Jewish News will be $69, approximately 17 cents a week more than currently. For those who want to lock in a more attractive rate, we ask JtionlIne.us that you consider two-year or three- year subscription renewals. • Prod your favorite community non- profit organizations and charities to pay their "fair share" for advertising in the Jewish News. Some of them don't it . Screen realize that we can't, and will not, be to give them the free advertising rtunity able support they request (and occasionally demand) if they don't support us. Since its founding in 1942 by the visionary Philip Slomovitz and with financial support from local Jewish inside: Business Section communal leaders Fred Butzel, Maurice Schwartz, Henry Wineman, Abraham Srere, Theodore Levin, Maurice Aronsson and Isidore Sobeloff, you have told us time and again how important we are in your lives. The immortal Detroiter David B. Hermelin said he believed the Jewish News to be the Detroit Jewish community's sturdy "backyard fence where information, news and ideas were exchanged among neighbors and an enduring sense of shared responsibility was created and nurtured. As we navigate these challenging times, thank you for your continuing support and embrace of the Jewish News and for enabling us to build on our record of service to the community. 0 1.1.7,,D,”.10-71. • linti.11 . I ask that we all do our part to strengthen the glue that holds our community together: the Jewish News. We take Tributes personally Personal Greetings Every Card Uniquely Yours Personal Service One Day Processing Personal Attention Customized Special Occasion Tributes PHONE 248.538.6611 FAX 248.538.6615 Do you regularly shop JN advertisers? Are there multiple readers of your JN copy? MAKE TRIBUTES ONLINE wwwjarcorg Helping People with Disabilities Be Included in Our Community — All Through Their Lives IN 1470130 March 12 • 2009 A5