Fairbanks Daily News-Miner needs our help

Start with this premise: We are much better off in Fairbanks with a newspaper than we would be without one.

Of that I am certain.

But the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the oldest private institution in Fairbanks, faces an uncertain future because of the technological revolution that wiped out the industry model that worked here for more than 100 years.

From here on the News-Miner will be in the hands of a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that deserves community support. Without it, we will not have a newspaper at all.

For the past decade the Helen E. Snedden Foundation has operated the newspaper, but it has now turned over all assets, including the News-Miner building downtown, to Fairbanks Public Media Inc.

The enterprise is to be overseen by a volunteer board of directors. The board has yet to be created.

The work of that board will be the decisive factor in whether the newspaper continues for long.

The board members need to have not just the desire to save the newspaper, but the vision to understand what needs to be done to create a viable operation. This is not an easy task, but it is one worth trying. It will require challenging long-held assumptions and abandoning practices that no longer make sense.

The board will need expertise in the world of grants, information technology and fundraising.

In a decision that bodes well for the future, the newspaper has hired veteran Fairbanks journalist Julie Stricker as editor.

Having worked with her for many years, I know that she is capable, talented and able to work with people of varying points of view. Those are critical leadership skills.

If anyone can navigate these difficult waters, I think Stricker can do it.

I worked at the News-Miner for 37 of the best years of my life. I wish nothing but the best for those who are willing and able to carry on the work of the organization.

If the newspaper is not as good as it once was, it remains an important part of who we are. It records deaths, births, businesses, sports and more. It allows people to state their views and make their claims.

Yes a lot gets left out and goes uncovered. But what’s covered is important as well. I think of news coverage as a moving target and remember one of my main principles across thousands of news stories and columns—there is always the chance that the next one will be better.

One of the top priorities for the future is to find ways to increase the size of the newspaper staff and pay a living wage. Easier said than done. I know.

Advertising has withered, consumed by the rapacious likes of Google and Facebook. Subscriptions have declined. And our community is not as well informed.

It’s not even a skeleton staff now, with Kris Capps, Jack Barnwell, Drew Blouin, Dorothy Chomicz and Stricker carrying an enormous and unpublicized burden to fill the pages.

The newspaper has continued to focus on its print edition, which comes out six days a week, while neglecting its website. The transition from print to digital is mandatory if the newspaper is to survive. Resisting the change is a one-way ticket to oblivion.

Old people like me read print newspapers. We make up a steadily shrinking audience for the dead-tree version of the News-Miner.

Young people are not buying print newspapers and they are not about to get into the habit that their grandparents took for granted. The alternative is to make the website strong enough and attractive enough to get more digital subscribers.

The News-Miner has to find a way to make itself relevant to readers in Fairbanks and throughout Alaska.

It has to find a way to break through to at least some of those who foolishly claim they don’t need a newspaper because they learn all they need to know on Facebook.

I don’t pretend to understand how to grapple with all of this and how to deal with the complicated economics and logistics.

There are brighter minds in Fairbanks and elsewhere in Alaska who can help turn things around.

I think the University of Alaska has the potential to benefit its mission and to assist the newspaper. UA President Matt Cooper and UAF Chancellor Russ Vander Lugt, are uniquely positioned to bring a fresh perspective.

The Anchorage Daily News has cutback its print edition to two days a week and its website is one of the best reliable sources of information in Alaska.

The Daily News is in a different situation than the News-Miner for several reasons, but one of the key differences is that as a nonprofit the News-Miner may have more options available. As a nonprofit, donations are tax deductible which is important both for individuals and companies. Plus, grants are more accessible.

The Daily News contracts out the printing operation and no longer relies upon its own staff. The News-Miner has a talented and dedicated press crew with decades of experience. Newsprint is expensive and so is delivering the newspaper by hand. There are real impacts on people with any change.

The challenge is a difficult one. The reason to face it is clear.

Social media sites, operated by rules in which readers are manipulated for profit by unseen algorithms, are no substitute for a local newspaper created by people who live here and care about the community.

I suggest that the News-Miner could begin the transition it must make with a series of community meetings to deliver the facts about the institution and develop a plan and build an audience of people who recognize what’s at stake.