Beginning April 25, The Lawton Constitution will convert to a 5-day publication cycle. Simply, we’ll eliminate the Monday paper, and combine Saturday and Sunday into a weekend edition that will publish Sundays.
I realize this may be a bit of a shock to long-time residents and readers of this publication, but despite a heroic effort on the part of our employees, and significant progress, we have to acknowledge the realities of today’s market and make this change. Without this change, the newspaper itself is at risk. I firmly believe a newspaper is critical to any quality community and this decision was made to help us secure the newspaper’s future. The people who work here are committed to giving readers the highest quality, balanced and comprehensive news report in southwest Oklahoma.
In nearly 40 years in this business, most of them in Oklahoma, this is the most difficult decision I’ve had to make, but the local impact of the COVID-19 virus presents a new reality we can’t ignore. And, even when the crisis portion of the coronavirus passes, we know the financial impacts will be long-lasting.
Newspapers have always relied heavily on advertising — as much as 88 percent of revenues — to produce the daily product for you. But beginning in the ‘70s, retail giants brought change to Main Street. The evolution of online shopping brought even more challenges to those retailers in the new century. And now, with businesses being forced to close their doors, that local support has taken another hit. Those local businesses are hurting. They’re doing everything they can to assure their recovery when this is over, and we are too.
We only have one goal with this change: To have the resources to keep the staff members necessary to produce the area’s most complete news report. We believe, more than ever, community journalism is one of the things that unifies us.
Generations of residents, business owners, local officials and others have helped produce this newspaper for over a century. Some were employees. For many, their first “job” was delivering the newspaper on a bicycle. They’re a proud part of our legacy. Today, we’re a local business and operate with a staff of about 40 individuals. People still turn to us to report changes they made to their businesses, to their hours of operation, to recognize our successes and to mourn our losses. Recently a reader called us, her voice breaking slightly, to say how glad she was that we continued to deliver to her home every day.
You have a routine that you’ve done for years. You like it. It’s familiar and comforting. I know that any disruption to that routine is hard. But every industry in the world is evolving and we have to adapt to the “new normal”. The Lawton Constitution has been part of the fabric of southwest Oklahoma for nearly 120 years. And, whether in print or online, we intend to continue that tradition
You will continue to receive a newspaper 7 days a week through April 24. However, starting Saturday, April 25, our schedule will be to publish Tuesdays through Fridays and a Sunday/weekend edition.
What we cover will remain the same. In fact, some of the things that determined our future schedule includes high school sports, city government meetings and a variety of community activities. Our staff — committed Oklahomans and residents of communities in the area — will stay true to the mission of the newspaper, providing the most local news of any resource out there. And, for those of you who subscribe and read us regularly, thank you for your support of community journalism. You’re why we still do what we do.
I’ve believed for a long time that the newspaper is like comfort food: We’re that familiar product people know they can count on in challenging times. Our goal with this change is to assure you that will continue long into the future.
— David R. Stringer
Publisher
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April 19, 2020 at 01:00PM
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Newspaper to convert to 5-day publication cycle - The Lawton Constitution
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