Recently, we were asked if newspapers were going the way of the Pony Express.
The answer is a resounding no.
Are newspapers like The Covington News changing how they present news? Yes.
For those skeptics who believe the influence of the local newspaper has waned, rest assured it has not.
For instance, the newspaper circulation of The News has stayed consistent during the recession we have experienced. In addition to our home-delivered product — which is delivered to 5,400 homes, three times a week — the paper is viewed by 315,733 people a month and 64,952 people visit our website on a daily basis to view our stories and ads.
This figure is growing at a steady pace as we have added a weekly newsletter, which is an edgy, bright product that is sent to the more than 24,000 email accounts we have.
This newsletter is sent out on Thursday mornings and contains information on fun things to do in the whole metro Atlanta area, including our home counties of Newton and Rockdale.
In addition to the new newsletter, you will find online at CovNews.com a video of the Board of Commissioners bi-weekly meetings.
The CovNews website has become, in fact, a daily newspaper. It is updated throughout the day with breaking news stories, both national and local.
Our breaking news component is sent out whenever there is a major story that affects your lives including traffic jams on I-20.
We have more than 6,000 Facebook followers who view stories that are updated throughout the day. These stories produce some interesting comments from our followers.
We also produce slick, informative magazines like the Newcomers edition which provide community information for newcomers throughout the year.
All of these services are free if you are a subscriber; if you are not currently a subscriber, these services are available for $5 per month or just $2.99 for web services.
Emergencies or other stories of major community concern like fires or obituaries are always free to all.
The future of newspapers is strong in spite of what you might hear. This paper has been serving our community for 148 years and counting, and we are trying our best to ensure that it serves our community for the next 148 years to come.
