The recent increase in price for the New York Post from 75 cents to a $1.00 following the New York Times going from $2.00 to $2.50 earlier this year still leaves the Great Neck News as one of our best bargains in town.
Newspapers and magazines have to deal with increasing costs for newsprint, delivery and distribution along with reduced advertising revenues and declining readership due to competition from the Internet and other new information sources.
Daily newspapers concentrate on international, Washington, Albany, business and sports stories. They have few reporters assigned to cover local neighborhood news beats. These reporters have to compete against colleagues for limited available print space. As a result, daily newspapers miss significant news and political stories from our various Great Neck villages and unincorporated neighborhoods along with neighboring Herricks, New Hyde Park, Williston Park and Garden City.
Many including myself read several daily newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Post, Newsday and Staten Island Advance along with freebies – AM New York and Metro New York. Being concerned about what is going on in Great Neck, we are still left yearning for more local news. Weekly newspapers such as the Great Neck News and competitor – Great Neck Record – fill the void for coverage of local community news.
A word of thanks for also affording me and many neighbors the opportunity to express our views via letters to the editor along with others who may have different opinions on the issues of the day. Thanks to you, ordinary citizens like myself have the freedom to comment on the actions and legislation of various elected officials at the city, state and federal level.
Public officials are powerful with easy access to taxpayers dollars used on a regular basis to promote their views. This is done via mass mailings of newsletters, news releases, letters to the editor and guest opinion page columns.
In many cases, they are produced or ghost written by campaign or office staffers paid for by taxpayers on public time.
Ordinary citizens like me only have the limited ability when we can to find the time and just submit a simple submission.
Local neighbors need to continuing supporting all our weekly community newspapers. Patronize their advertisers; they provide the necessary revenues to help keep them in business. Let them know you saw their ad. This helps keep our neighbors employed and the local economy growing. In the marketplace of ideas, let us hope there continues to be room for everyone including the Great Neck News.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
