 SEPTEMBER 26 • 2019 | 5

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publisher’
s notebook

Rosh Hashanah 5780
Jewish News: New beginnings and expectations.
W

ith the approach of 
Rosh Hashanah and 
the Days of Awe, 
we reflect upon the past and 
pray for a peaceful, healthy and 
fulfilling future. We feel a spe-
cial connection 
with those who 
have influenced 
our lives and are 
no longer with 
us … perhaps 
by concocting 
one of Bubbie’
s 
favorite holiday 
recipes from a 
handwritten index card or drap-
ing Zaydie’
s mothball-scented 
tallit on our shoulders at syn-
agogue services. We also look 
at our children and grandchil-
dren, imagining a world for 
them with less anger, strife and 
anti-Semitism.
Though the Jewish News has 
been serving our community 
since 1942, this Rosh Hashanah 
feels like a new beginning for 
us. As dramatic changes disrupt 
the media industry, we remain 
committed to providing you 
with a publication of continu-
ing quality and credibility — 
for the first time in an all-glossy, 
magazine-style format. 
Also indicative of this new 
beginning is the growth of our 
digital and social media content 
and offerings. Today, the Jewish 
News operates more like a daily 
news enterprise with regular 
updates. While our collective 
print and digital offerings now 
reach more people than at any 
time in our 77-year history, our 
industry remains dependent on 
an old-school economic model 
that relies on a declining vol-
ume of print advertising to pay 
for it all. At a time when there 
is more news to cover than ever, 
declining print advertising pages 
cause corresponding declines in 
pages for news content.

There is growth in digital 
advertising, but two entities 
— Google and Facebook — 
gobble up 87 percent of all 
digital advertising. That leaves 
13 percent for everyone else 
… crumbs. Since 2004, about 
2,100 newspapers and their 
accompanying digital web-
sites have closed nationally. 
They range from metropolitan 
dailies to weekly publications 
— including those that serve 
the Jewish community. We’
re 
still here, bucking this difficult 
trend. However, additional rev-
enue sources will be needed to 
sustain and strengthen indepen-
dent, credible, community-
focused newsgathering organiza-
tions — like the Jewish News.
As we enter the New Year 
5780, here is what you can 
expect from us:
• A robust and expanding dig-
ital presence. Monthly visits 
to the Jewish News website 
are approaching 100,000 and 
skew younger. They look to 
us daily — typically through 
their mobile devices — for 
news and information;
• A significant adjustment 
in how we interact with 
you. We will look to be in 
a “relationship” with you, 
seeking your ideas for stories, 
inviting you to special events, 
providing you with more 

information on subjects of 
your choosing and offering 
additional ways to thank you;
• The emergence of a “rela-
tionship” model that provides 
a menu of ways for you to 
receive news and other infor-
mation from us — when 
you want it. Underpinning 
this model will be the simple 
fact that you will be support-
ing the survival of credible, 
independent Jewish commu-
nity-oriented journalism for 
Detroit;
• 
The Detroit Jewish News 
Foundation, a 501-c-3 non-
profit organization formed 
in 2011, assuming a more 
significant role as the Jewish 
News shifts toward a sustain-
able, mission-driven business 
model. You’
ll hear more 
about that as plans develop.
On behalf of the Jewish News 
staff, we wish you a sweet, 
rewarding and healthy new year 
and look forward to new begin-
nings … and the opportunity 
to continue to serve you. 

L
’
shanah tovah,

 

 
 

Arthur Horwitz 
Publisher & Executive Editor

Arthur
Horwitz

“Since 2004, about 2,100 
newspapers have closed 
nationally. We’re still bucking 
this diffi
 cult trend. However, 
additional revenue sources 
will be needed to sustain and 
strengthen the Jewish News”

