Normalcy. The way of life we once experienced every day is currently out of the question due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schools, public buildings, the list goes on, are closed and people are advised to stay home.
The effect on Franklin County and North Quabbin areas has been two-fold: residents’ health and the economy. Many have been stricken with the virus, and unfortunately there are those who have lost their lives. Businesses deemed non-essential by the state have closed and unemployment figures have soared.
Naturally, the pandemic has had an impact on the Athol Daily News.
I will begin with what hasn’t changed: our commitment to community news. We began reporting on how people were preparing and responding to the pandemic along with remarkable demonstrations of neighborliness in the broadest sense of the word. That coverage has shifted as COVID-19 has made its way here.
From the start, we have made all of our locally produced COVID-19 stories free to readers on our website as part of our commitment to community news.
Of course, as a business, the pandemic has had an impact on the Athol Daily News, most notably with a decrease in advertisement revenue, understandable because so many of our advertisers have temporarily shut their doors, stopped holding events or have cut back on expenses.
To deal with this turn of events, the Athol Daily News has had to make adjustments, including producing smaller newspapers to save on printing costs.
As sports-minded readers are aware, two reporters on our sports team were laid off as well as a photographer. Right now, these journalists should be covering spring season for our local high schools plus other seasonal events. Our sports editor, Jeff Lajoie, would be selecting stories about the NBA and MLB, among others. Now Jeff is on his own, mining Western Mass. for local stories and whatever the wire services generate.
Our intention is that everyone will return as soon as the sports world is back in action.
At the same time, all managers took a 10 percent cut in pay.
Deadlines were moved up extra early so shifts in the pressroom at our sister paper the Daily Hampshire Gazette could be combined.
A reporter’s position we hoped to fill remains on hold. (We were able to hire reporter Mary Byrne just before the pandemic ratcheted up in our state.)
More than half of our staff works from home. The rest of us who choose to be in the newsroom practice common sense. Frankly, I miss the comradery of a full newsroom.
Then, on Thursday most of our columnists, who work on a freelance basis, were informed they will be on a hiatus as a cost-savings measure. Let me be clear. They were not fired. As our publisher assured me, this is a temporary measure.
I certainly appreciate what our columnists bring to the paper, whether it’s Mike Roche’s love of the great outdoors, Carla Carter’s stories about North Quabbin’s past and J.R. Greene’s knowledge of collectibles.
We will continue Bill Danielson and Pat Leuchtman’s columns. Both have been with us for many decades.
How is the Athol Daily News helping itself? I know our colleagues in the advertisement department are working hard under extraordinary circumstances.
Currently, we are conducting an online fundraiser called the COVID-19 Local News Fund, which will help finance coverage of the pandemic in the Athol Daily News. I am touched by the generous support of our readers and their encouraging comments. Thank you, readers.
In addition, our publisher has been seeking other sources of financial assistance.
For the past, the Athol Daily News has survived wars, economic downturns and other hard times. I remain confident the newspaper will get through this one.
We wish the same for you. Be safe. Be well.