Dear readers,
As we turned the calendars to 2025, I was reflecting on the last decade for our company — our gains and our losses.
The end of 2024 brought about the retirement — one by choice and the other due to health issues — of two longtime journalists. Both were a huge loss for our company and a sign of an aging editorial legion across the industry.
The “small-town newspaper” — one under 30,000 in circulation — has a significant presence in America’s history.
These publications, originally created to communicate among common language and heritage, later focused on hyper-localism while promoting citizen journalism and community advocacy. Over time these aspects have shifted as many small-town publications have been swallowed up in the modern world with the ever-changing means of communication.
The Press Times and its parent company, Multi Media Channels, hold tight to small-town ideals in focusing on local news, citizen journalism and advocacy while providing this publication.
The first aspect where collaboration comes into play is advertisers. Advertisers are the largest and certainly the most important aspect in the equation. I will not hesitate to say that without them, we could not provide the product we offer each week in print and daily online for free.
In addition, those working in rural Wisconsin media today often wear many hats. What were once staffs of 50 have now become staffs of no more than 10. Media organizations continue to shrink as online eyewitness coverage becomes more common.
As many of these media outlets have been condensed to a minimal news staff, we sometimes rely on collaborations to gather, distribute or capture what others might need. We are all out there to bring awareness, and we remain few in number.
It is through collaboration that we can provide the best for the community and fit its needs. Working with others makes it easier for those we are interviewing and opens the door to more information.
Informing the public is not always possible unless community leaders and residents make themselves available to those trying to report on them. As a community, we are fortunate when a phone call is all that it takes to discuss the issues that affect us or give us a look into what might not be readily accessible.
As a small staff, we each have our main responsibilities, but we are in a constant state discussion on what we can do for our readers and supporters. No resource will ever be untapped if it benefits our customers.
From Customer Service Representation Casie Mallien to General Manager Mike Hollihan to Sales Representative Christian Rasmussen, there is not a single day when someone does not go out of their way to do a little extra for someone else.
Possibly the most important collaboration happens in the editorial department, where Sports Editor Tori Wittenbrock, City Pages Editor Janelle Fisher and myself do whatever possible to help each other out with coverage.
Collaborations with the Neville Public Museum, Packer Hall of Fame Inc, Brown County Federation of History Organizations and other organizations allow us to bring more information to the community.
Then there is the Pass it Forward internship program, which I view as the epitome of community collaboration. The partnership with the Green Bay Packers Give Back, Nicolet Bank, UW-Green Bay, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, St. Norbert College, UW-Stevens Point and Notre Dame de la Baie Academy has built an environment where we all learn from each other while increasing community awareness.
The program, through our backers’ assistance, will see us into the future and help keep the community connected, no matter what direction it leads us.
Collaboration is the fabric that holds our rural community together. It may be seen everywhere: among realtors, businesses, organizations, and beyond. Working together is what creates the sense of community and what makes us feel that we belong.
We are all running the same race. Let’s do more to make it easier for each other.
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