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Dear friend,
Today marks the second anniversary of the New York Sun’s return to national daily newspaper status, and the coverage of our industry remains dire. Layoffs are everywhere. Last month, the Los Angeles Times laid off 20 percent of its newsroom. The Wall Street Journal has closed its Washington bureau. NBC News, ABC News, Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, Insider, NPR, Vox, Condé Nast and CBC all announced layoffs. Buzzfeed News, Pitchfork, and Messenger have completely shut down.
A study released in November by Northwestern University found that nationally, 2.5 newspapers are closing down each week, and most of those are locally published weekly magazines. Questions swirl about the future of the industry. A headline in the Atlantic asks, “Is American journalism headed for extinction?” The predictions are dire. Uncertainty is prevalent. The overall atmosphere is dark.
However, it would be a mistake to ignore the fact that human nature is unchanging. The unifying desire, nay, need, to obtain information has been available since the beginning of civilization. “Newspapers are the most necessary articles,” Charles Dana, the pioneering 19th-century editor of the Sun, once said. “You have to have breakfast, but you also have to have the newspaper.” In fact, overall news consumption remains high.
So it appears that what appears to be a contraction is actually a form of correction. The market is a stark reminder of one of the most enduring truths: that newspapers’ primary customers are their readers. In many ways, this principle has faded over time, but has become even more so in recent decades of industry disruption due to the digital revolution. These and other factors are causing a realignment of priorities at many of our nation’s most prestigious publishers. They came to serve other masters.
The first thing to mention is advertisers. The temptation is understandable. They have been paying newspaper reporters’ salaries for a long time. I must confess that the sun played a role in the introduction of this model. As the first penny daily, it was sold at a fraction of the price of competing papers. It pioneered full-page advertising to compensate for low subscription fees. Charles Dana was later described as “barely tolerant” of advertisers and dreamed of a newspaper fully supported by its readers.
Other newspapers have also begun to prioritize politics, deliberately neglecting important stories of public interest. Some newspapers were acquired by billionaires as status symbols or used as ideological playthings. Some were designed or repurposed as government agencies. Britain’s prestigious Telegraph newspaper is now in danger of being swallowed up by the United Arab Emirates.
There are even calls for the government to fund newspapers and journalism en masse, which is a terrible idea and completely at odds with the democratic vision of a free press.
At The Sun, we believe the opportunity is greater than ever for newspapers that are designed to serve readers above all else. In the words of Charles Dana, newspapers “have to respond to the people’s needs. They have to give the people the kind of information they want, or they can never be successful.” ”
Our goal is that every interaction with the sun informs, educates, inspires, and uplifts our readers. To fight on their behalf to protect the “social liberties” that our republic is in danger of losing completely. Therefore, “all intelligent plants grow vigorously and bear fruit without any hindrance.”
We have been encouraged by the reception we have received from the public. We are pleased to report that our readership has increased by over 300% over the past year. He has seen a 500% increase in the number of paid subscribers who support The Sun’s journalism. We have a new and exciting addition to our newsroom. Every day we hear from young people who want to build a career in journalism.
We are not guided by subjective, parochial analyzes of what is deemed “printable.” For nearly 200 years, we are a paper that has carried the promise of “bringing light to everyone.” That means relentlessly pursuing the interests and welfare of our readers and all the publics we serve. There is nothing better for the sun.
I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of myself as well as my colleagues, to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has joined us over the past year. And we declare our arms open to all Americans who have not yet called the sun home.
Sincerely,
Dovid Efne
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