LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

That ‘overall newspaper environment ‘

Dear Readers,

You may have read the news.

After publishing for 40 years, Share newspaper will no longer  be coming out every week.

In a notice to its readers last week, the paper announced that as of  May 1, Share will be published every other week.

It went on to state that ” a change in the overall newspaper environment. for one, has led to this decision.”

For all of us in the Black and Caribbean communities, this is sad news.

At this time in the history of our communities, we cannot afford to lose what is clearly an important  and  well respected voice.

To switch from a weekly to a “once every other week” paper, diminishes that voice.

Arnold Auguste, the publisher of Share, is a sober, rational community leader who is not known to make rash statements.

But we wish that he would have explained himself  when he alluded to the “overall newspaper environment.”

Tell us more, Arnold.

We are left wondering whether he was thinking what we are thinking.

Because we, too, are concerned about the “overall newspaper environment.”

I am not exaggerating when I say that we regard community journalism as a sacred trust, especially at a time when we need to speak out about  major problems affecting our people.

But what we are discovering is that impostors and “outsiders” are making major inroads  into community journalism.

And many in our community may not notice this until it is too late.

Rather than  a sacred trust, some of these impostors treat news as just another commodity to be sold at cut-rate prices.

With their glossy paper and “fat” editions, they fool advertisers into thinking that they are the only game in town .Or the only one worth supporting.

But take the time to check out their bona fides and one may  be surprised  to learn about their commitment  to the community and to community journalism.

Which is why we express our concern about the future of Share.

Yes, we are competitors but we do not wish to see the voice of Share  diminished  by what is happening in this new cut-throat community journalism environment .

Walk good.

Anthony Joseph