The Covington News’ print publication has seen a lot of changes over the past 12 months. We’ve changed the way our logo looks on the front page, we’ve had a shift in the editorial staff and most recently we’ve had a change in management, as you read in last week’s editorial.

While things are always changing – it is the news industry after all – some things remain the same. We still bring you the same great coverage of Newton County and its happenings. We are still the legal organ of this county and we still print the funny pages. Well, as of this publication we no longer do the latter.

It was not an easy decision at all. Running comics in the newspaper is a long-held tradition that we respect. However, after a poll of our readers, a decision was made to pull the pages.

You may have noticed two weeks ago, in this very spot, we published the results of a poll asking whether or not our readers read the comics. This poll was conducted on our website (covnews.com) and 59 percent of people said they read the comics every week, while 19 percent of people said they did not.

How did we make the decision with numbers like that?

Last week, we asked our readers what their favorite thing to read in the paper was. Out of the 121 votes cast, the comics only received four.

The decision was made.

While we understand the comics are definitely an enjoyable piece of the newspaper, we also believe there is a lot more to our print publication that brings you, our dear readers, back every week. 

We will continue to brainstorm ways to engage our readers and make our product exactly what you expect, whether it is through coupons inserted into the paper or hard-hitting news on the front page.

The Covington News continues to strive to be your chosen news source. While the newspaper industry continues to change, we hope to change with it in a way that fits our community.

As always, we encourage reader feedback at all times. What are we missing in the community? What are we publishing too much of? Let us know. It is an incredible honor that you allow us in your home each and every week and we want to make sure we continue to deserve that honor each week.