Death in the Family

The front page of the Annapolis Capital-Gazette on the day after a shooting in that paper's newsroom killed five. Despite the tragedy, they "put out out a damn paper" the next day. It's what we do. 

So at this point, I would imagine that some of you are getting tired of all the goings on about journalists and community newspapers on this blog.

But you must admit, it hasn't been a banner week around here or in my business.

Although, and apparently I can't repeat this enough, the Pottstown Mercury may have re-located out of Pottstown, it will continue to publish. I'll be working out of my nifty little home office right here in Pottstown, which I spent the hot part of the weekend setting up.

Still I will miss the company of my co-workers, dwindling though their number may be.

But my loss is nothing compared to that experienced in Annapolis. As I said, not a banner week for newspaper newsrooms.

One of my former co-workers, Michelle Karas, sent me a column by Miami Herald and Pulitzer Prize winning humor columnist Dave Barry on the subject of that shooting.

You can read it by clicking here.

I've been a huge fan of Barry for a long time, particularly when I used to read his columns to my wife while she was pregnant. Then I found out he graduated from my high school, Pleasantville High School, the year after I was born and his first job was at the Daily Local News in West Chester, where he was paid $93 a week. (I'm not sure the pay has increased much since then....)

Anyway, my attachment grew, the fewer our degrees of separation became.

There was a line in his column that caught in my throat when I read it to my wife Sunday night.

Since that first job, "most of my friends have been newspaper people. No offense to any other profession, but these are, pound for pound, the smartest, funniest, most interested and most interesting people there are. They love what they do, and most of them do it for lousy pay, at a time when the economic situation of newspapers is precarious, and layoffs are common."

And I began to think about what a small extended family we newspaper people are and getting smaller all the time.

Michelle is working for The Gazette in Colorado Springs now, and Chris Six, whose column you hopefully read yesterday in this space, is now running two weeklies in Virginia. Caroline Sweeney is out in Kansas now as a TV reporter and the irrepressible Brandie Kessler is still at the York Daily Record.

Dan Robrish is running the Elizabethtown Advocate and Joe Zlomek, the former publisher of The Mercury, is running his growing empire of digital Post publications, which began with The Sanatoga Post -- this despite the fact that the guy already has a full-time job.

Michelle didn't know this when she sent Barry's column, but I applied for a job at The Capital many years ago.

Shortly after The Mercury was purchased by the then-dreaded-now-long-gone Journal-Register Co., once known as the champion of cost-cutting until the current owner, the rapacious Alden Global Capital, showed us all how it's really done, the late Walt Herring, the departing editor, advised me to find another job.

"Don't dawdle here," he said.

This was before Pottstown fully had its hooks in me and it seemed like good advice, so I snagged an interview at The Capital. No job offer came and the rest is history, well, at least family history anyway.

But it did get me thinking this weekend about "what if?" Had I gotten a job there, would I be among the dead? Would I have been like crime and courts reporter Phillip Davis, live-Tweeting from under his desk that his newsroom was under attack? (That's where my wife put her money.)

Would I have been one of the many who came back to the office to do what they always do, gather the facts and share them? I like to think so.

Journalism is certainly under attack these days, from economic forces, political forces and, as seems to have been the case in Annapolis, by people who have a grudge they want to settle with a gun.

But despite the glamour of being occasionally threatened, or being called "an enemy of the people," it gets harder and harder to make a living, raise a family and pay a mortgage working in a newsroom these days.

Many, like Frank Otto, Rosemarie Ross, Eileen Faust, Cheryl Thornburg, Eric Devlin, Chuck Pitchford, Pat Sommers, Kim Toth, Kaitlyn Foti -- the three horsemen of the photographic apocalypse, John Strickler, Kevin Hoffman and Dan Creighton -- and particularly my boss of nearly 20 years Nancy March, have left the business, mostly for aforesaid economic reasons.

I heard from many of them Friday on the last day in the newsroom at The Mercury building before it was shuttered, sharing memories and regrets. Tom Hylton, former editorial writer and one of our two Pulitzer Prize winners, came in to have a last look around.

All because while some of them may have left the business, the business has left its mark on them.

By way of example, some of you may know March still does some part-time paginating work for us but is primarily focused on her new passion, "Pottstown Works." 

But I ran into her after the chamber of commerce luncheon last week and she remarked on the presentation made by Peggy Lee-Clark about all the new businesses opening in Pottstown.

Nancy was particularly interested in Cedarville Engineering, which moved here from Chester County and is taking over the upper floors of the bank building at High and Hanover streets.

"We've got to get them into the paper" she said to me intently, completely forgetting that she no longer decides who gets into "the paper." This was not hubris, it was habit.

I just smiled, and agreed. She read my face, grimaced, and told me to shut up.

It is like any other family of un-related people who all love the same thing, don't always love each other, but always drop what they're doing to make deadline.

We don't do it for the money and fame, although some of us do it a little bit for the adrenaline (I'm looking at you Frank and Brandie). Barry had it right again when he wrote:

"The news people I know are still passionate about what they do, and they do it remarkably well. And here's the corny-but-true part: They do it for you. Every time they write a story, they're hoping you'll read it, maybe learn something new, maybe smile, maybe get mad and want to do something."

And so although I didn't know any of them, I'll risk an accusation of presumption and say it's not hard to imagine that I knew something about what those killed in Annapolis were like; what they thought was important and the passion they had for the vocation, because it is so, so much more than a job.

And I know I know why those who survived, those 10 bylines that appear on the next day's front page of The Capital, did what they did in the immediate aftermath.

They "put out a damn paper."

Because that's what we do.

Guest Column: Former Mercury Writer Reflects on Community Journalism, "A Tale of Two Newspapers'

As some of you might imagine, Friday, the last day I wrote for The Mercury inside the building where I have worked for 20-plus years, was a day that will stand out in my memory for a long time.

And what with the newsroom killings at The Capital-Gazette in Maryland the day before, you might understand feeling a bit beleaguered.

But given that the Capital-Gazette newsroom still put out a paper after being shot up and five of their co-workers killed, I don't see how I can justifiably say that I'm too wiped out to offer any  more insights into the closing of The Mercury building, even though I am.

So as a compromise, I'm going to offer somebody else's insights.

Chris Six worked at The Mercury as a graphics editor for several years, then at Stars & Stripes for many more and now runs two up-and-coming weeklies in Virginia, the Fauquier Times and the Prince William Times. He and I have remained friends throughout the years.

On June 12, he published a column about his time here, the closing of The Mercury building and the role of community journalism that was so good, it seems a shame not to share it with you here.

So I am.

Without further adieu, I give you:

"Community journalism: A tale of two newspapers"

By Christopher Six

For as long as I can remember, they’ve been telling me newspapers were in trouble. But of my former employers, only the small daily where I started my career in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, no longer exists.

The circulation was 6,000. I was the “full-time,” 30-hour-a-week sportswriter. That meant they could work you 38 and not pay benefits. If I didn’t live with my parents, I couldn’t have made a living. When it rained, water came pouring through the ceiling of the “sports annex” into an industrial-sized Rubbermaid next to my desk.

I loved it. So much so that I changed my college major from broadcast to print. Why? Because community journalism matters.

But this column isn’t about that newspaper.

It’s about where I’m at now, almost 30 years later: The Fauquier Times. And it’s about a daily that still holds an important place in my heart: The Mercury, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

The Mercury was facing the same difficulties every newspaper faced when I arrived in 1998: shrinking ad revenue, shrinking circulation, what to do with the internet. But good journalism was still happening. And boy, did we have fun. In many ways, I think it was the last of the good old days.

Christopher Six

Three photographers, a half a dozen reporters, two copy editors, a five-person sports crew. Multiple editors. From 4 in the afternoon until midnight, it’s where the action was.

These were people who cared about the community they served. Working all hours. After deadline, going for burgers and beers together. We loved what we did, who we did it with and the community we were doing it for. I look back on those days and curse the foolishness of youth that led me to chase dreams elsewhere.

A handful of those good journalists remain, as recent coverage of the YMCA’s attempt to leave Pottstown proves. But as a friend who continues to fight the good fight assured me, I would have been axed years ago. You see, the newspaper’s parent company, Digital First Media, is owned by Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund that has very different goals for its properties.

You might have heard of Alden and Digital First. They have been in the news lately:

• Niemanlab.org: “Newsonomics: Alden Global Capital is making so much money wrecking local journalism it might not want to stop anytime soon.”

• Bloomberg: “Imagine If Gordon Gekko Bought News Empires. The reality is even worse: This raider sinks decimated newsrooms’ revenue into bad investments.”

• Philadelphia Inquirer: “Philly’s Digital First papers face harsh cuts, potential ‘lights-out scenario’”

• Denver Post editorial: “As vultures circle, The Denver Post must be saved”

• MPR News’ NewsCut: “Newspaper employees wonder who will cover their plight”

Digital First recently made news by purchasing the Boston Herald.

• Boston Business Journal: “Digital First lays off Boston Herald managers, workers”

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Alden has done something besides strike a blow to community journalism: They’ve profited from it. For years, we have heard journalism is not profitable. It seems we have been proven wrong.

Quoting the NiemanLab story:

“Today we can reveal some key financial numbers from the very private company that shows just how successful Alden and DFM have been at milking profit out of the newspapers it is slashing to the bone. DFM reported a 17-percent operating margin — well above those of its peers — in its 2017 fiscal year, along with profits of almost $160 million. That’s the fruit of the repeated cutbacks that have left its own shrinking newsrooms in a state of rebellion.”

News came Friday that The Mercury is being kicked out of its historic home. This isn’t a surprise; the building should probably be condemned. I understand parts of it have been left to rot to a point that it is uninhabitable. Workers have been told they can work remotely or at the centralized plant in Exton. Unfortunately, that’s 30 minutes away, not in Pottstown.

The newspaper is being physically removed from its community. Now, good reporters will still be present, but think about it for a minute. Think about access this community enjoys to its local newspaper. Think about stopping by to subscribe, pick up a copy, drop off a letter to the editor, plan an ad or talk to a reporter or editor. Imagine that gone.

The Fauquier Times offers something different than disinterested corporate entities or hedge funds: local ownership comprised of investors who want to be proud of their newspaper. Who thought so much of that cause, they went and bought it.

I saw a lot of promise in that. It’s what drew me here from a relatively stable job at Stars and Stripes. I saw possibilities for the future of community newspapers, and a model for how it could work that others could follow. I wanted to be a part of that.

It hasn’t been easy. There have been challenges along the way. But exciting things are happening. We’ve redesigned. Added section fronts. Expanded coverage. Branched out into new mediums. We are learning and we are growing. The possibilities are endless.

To me, community journalism is a sacred trust. We are uniquely positioned to tell the stories of this community in ways no other organization can. We believe in this community: its people, its businesses, its causes. That means sharing the good things that are happening, as well as serving as the community’s watchdog.

I’ve shown you how easily that trust can be betrayed. You and I each have an investment in this cause. By buying a newspaper in print or online, or subscribing, you invest in our future. And through our work and dedication, we invest in our community. It’s a symbiotic relationship. All of us. Together.

Chris Six is the Editor-in-Chief of the Times. Email him at csix@fauquier.com. Follow him on Twitter @christophersix1

Summer Science Coming to a Library Near You

Now in its 32nd year, “Science in the Summer” programs will take place in the coming weeks at libraries in Pottstown, Royersford, Red Hill and Schwenksville.

The hands-on programs are co-sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and The Franklin Institute and feature hands-on science activities for children from second through sixth grades.

Level one classes are best for students in second and third grade, while level two classes are best for students entering fourth, fifth and sixth grades.

Examples of this year’s activities include making and operating straw rockets; comparing the effects of UV rays on UV-sensitive beads (they glow when exposed), with and without sunscreen; and making and operating rockets made of film canisters fueled with antacids and water.

Many of the activities can be repeated at home.

“Scientists and astronomers have made extraordinary discoveries about the universe in recent years, making this an exciting time to introduce young people to world beyond ours,” said Marti Skold-Jordan, manager of community partnerships for GSK.

“The Science of Space classes will make the connection between these discoveries and STEM concepts and skills in a way that children will remember for years to come, and that will help ignite their scientific curiosity for a lifetime,” she said.

STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and math.

“By introducing STEM materials at a young age, we’re preparing them for future opportunities in STEM careers,” said Karen Elinich, director of science content and learning technologies for The Franklin Institute.

The classes will be taught by certified local teachers and the libraries that participate will receive children’s science book donations to support continued science learning.

Registration is ongoing until classes fill up, or start, whichever comes first. Call your local library for details.

Here is a list of programs and location organized by date:

• July 2-3, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Level 1 — Perkiomen Valley Library, 290 Second St., Schwenksville

• July 2-3, 1 to 3 p.m., Level 2 — Perkiomen Valley Library, 290 Second St., Schwenksville

• July 2-3, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Level 1 — Upper Perkiomen Library, 350 Main St., Red Hill

• July 2-3, 1 to 3 p.m., Level 2 — Upper Perkiomen Library, 350 Main St., Red Hill

• July 23-24, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Level 1 — Pottstown Regional Public Library, 500 High St., Pottstown

• July 23-24, 1 to 3 p.m., Level 2 — Pottstown Regional Public Library, 500 High St., Pottstown

• July 25-26, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Level 1 — Pottstown Regional Public Library, 500 High St., Pottstown

• July 25-26, 1 to 3 p.m., Level 1 — Pottstown Regional Public Library, 500 High St., Pottstown

• July 30-31, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Level 1 — Royersford Free Public Library, 200 S. Fourth St., Royersford

• July 30-31, 1 to 3 p.m., Level 2 — Royersford Free Public Library, 200 S. Fourth St., Royersford

Getting Land Preservation Out Into the Open

Fuzzy Photos by Evan Brandt

Eric Jarrell, section chief of community planning for the Montgomery County Planning Commission, illustrates all the area of interest investigated in the draft Multi-Regional Greenways and Stewardship Study during the meeting Wednesday of the Pottstown Metropolitan Area Regional Planning Committee.

Perhaps the first and most important thing to remember about environmentally sensitive areas, greenways and the like, is that many of those acres are under private ownership.

As a result, there is only so much that governments and non-profit preservation agencies can do directly to ensure the protection and proper function of critical woodlands, wetlands, meadows and streams.

Now in its third year and in preliminary draft form, a study that looks at such properties in 26 municipalities over 195 square miles in western Montgomery and northern Chester counties, looks to maximize that protection at a minimum of cost.

This map shows public parks, preserved

farmland, conservation lands and even

'Main Street Greenways' in purple.

"We can't just buy every property of value," said Eric Jarrell, section chief for
community planning with the Montgomery County Planning Commission.

Jarrell was in Pottstown Wednesday to update the Pottstown Area Metropolitan Regional Planning Committee on the progress of the study since its introduction in November of 2015.

The massive undertaking, assisted by the non-profit preservation group Natural Lands and the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, will be in final form by the end of the year.

Not only will it contain "best practices" for specific habitats and landscape types out in the undeveloped area, but also specific ways to improve specific greenways in boroughs, villages and downtown areas, said Jarrell.

Such efforts will also help in stormwater management efforts, he said.

But it can't cover everything.

One improvement Jarrell said the study is

like to suggest, is to use vegetation to 

replace some of the "ocean of asphalt" that

surrounds the firehouse in Gilbertsville.

For example, the study group looked at 38 public parks, but there are about 300 that it didn't. So father than try to devise a specific plan for each park, it will outline the "best management practices" for areas near streams, called "riparian buffers," woodlands and the like.

And those practices will not just be for municipal or protected lands, but also those in private hands as well. Jarrell said when complete, owners of those properties believed to have important or sensitive natural features will be invited to learn how to better manage them for maximum natural benefit.

They won't be pushy, he said in response to a concern raised by New Hanover Supervisor Kurt Zebrowski. "I think we'll have our hands full just trying to meet the needs of those landowners who respond and want our help," Jarrell said.

A separate guide will be produced for the management and improvement of Main Street greenways, said Jarrell, as well as guidelines for mustering a force of volunteers who can properly undertake such tasks as plant trees and remove invasive species.

Hopefully, private landowners may be able to take advantage of such volunteer groups as well.

And with that, here are the Tweets from the meeting:

Managing Greenways and Open Space

Combating the Spotted Lanternfly Invasion

Submitted Photo

U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-6th, second from right, and PA Rep. David Maloney, R-130th Dist., meet with USDA officials about efforts to combat the invasion by the spotted lanternfly

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the office of U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello

In February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a grant to combat the spotted lanternfly, a pest that is native to Southeastern Asia and first appeared in the United States in Berks County. 

Last week, federal and state officials came together for an update on the grant program. U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello R-6th Dist., and Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney, R-130th Dist., heard from USDA Deputy Administrator for APHIS Plan Protection and Quarantine Osama A El-Lissy and USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach, who leads the Office of Marketing and Regulatory Programs.

The office oversees the $17.5 million that Costello helped secure to combat the spotted lanternfly in the residential areas, wooded areas, and commercial agriculture areas. 

All three communities need specific approaches to combat the fly, and Costello and Maloney were briefed on the approach taken by the USDA. The department’s initial steps are to suppress the fly and stop the spread of the fly until it can be eliminated entirely.

“Pennsylvanians have shared how their farms and homes have been impacted by the spotted lanternfly. The ongoing partnership between federal and state officials is critical to stopping the spread of this pest in the Commonwealth, and I thank State Rep. Maloney and the USDA for their work and attention on this issue,” said Rep. Costello, who represents parts of Berks, Chester, Lebanon, and Montgomery counties. 

Each county is currently under quarantine for the spotted lanternfly.

“Knowing how important eliminating this pest is to our community, I was pleased to join Rep. Costello for a progress update from the USDA and thank federal officials for their commitment to resolve this threat in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The continued focus on the core and the perimeter will be a key part of successful treatment,” said Maloney. “I also brought attention to the growing concerns related to Chronic Wasting Disease, another new challenge we are facing in Pennsylvania.”

Maloney has been working to address the spotted lanternfly since it was discovered in Pennsylvania, and has urged state and federal officials to take an aggressive approach. Information provided during the meeting was the first evidence that this aggressive approach was showing signs of progress, according to Maloney.

Both Rep. Costello and State Rep. Maloney have previously urged officials to take action to control the pest.

If Pennsylvanians notice the spotted lanternfly in their neighborhood, they should contact the Automated Invasive Species Report Line at 1-888-4BAD-FLY (1-888-422-3359).

Pottstown High School Names New DECA Officers

NEW DECA OFFICERS: Standing are Angela Calel, Jen Hainsey, Emily Weber.  Kneeling are David Hicks and Devyn Lopez.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottstown School District

Pottstown High DECA sponsors, Lyndsay Hashem and Kevin Pascal have announced the 2018-19 DECA officers.

DECA is an international association of high school and college students. 

The organization’s goals are to improve education and provide opportunities for students interested in careers in marketing, management, and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales. 

 DECA helps students to develop skills for successful business careers providing opportunities for students to build self-esteem, experience, leadership, and practice community service.

The new officers are:

• Jen Hainsey - President
• David Hicks - Vice President
• Devyn Lopez - Executive Director (Officer of Communications)
• Emily Weber - Management Director (Officer of Membership)
• Angelica Calel - Event Director (Officer of Competition Prep and Fundraisers) 

A Newspaper Building By Any Other Name

WHAT'S IN A BUILDING?: Journalists, sales reps, circulation workers, business office workers, publishers (sometimes), drivers and a whole lot of history. 

It's no secret to many of you in the greater Pottstown area that I am a bit of a smart-ass.

But I will confess to being truly humbled by the actions taken in the past two weeks by the elected bodies I have spent more than 20 years covering and, in more than one instance, criticizing.

It takes a large measure of character to step outside oneself and see the greater good in an institution whose function is to tell you, and thousands of people, that you're screwing something up.

Certainly, that is not all The Mercury does in its coverage of local government. Like the elected officials and staffs themselves, we want to see Pottstown and the surrounding municipalities thrive and succeed. After all, that affects our health too.

But as I have said many times before, perhaps to the point that some of you are tired of hearing it, the First Amendment was not added to the Constitution just so the local newspaper would have the right to cover car crashes -- no matter how much people like to read about them and shake their heads over the photographs.

Our purpose for being, other than making money, is to hold government and the powerful accountable or, as E. K. Hornbeck once said "Mr. Brady, it is the duty of a newspaper to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."

So to have the people whom we so regularly afflict stand up and say "we need you here," is not only humbling, but reflects, at least in my opinion, a measure of their broader vision about the rolls we all take on.

Without any request from us, both Pottstown Borough Council and the Pottstown School Board took it upon themselves to vote (unanimously I might add) to send letters to the company that owns The Mercury in what will likely be an unsuccessful attempt to reverse the decision to close-up the newspaper's long-time home at King and North Hanover streets and move it to the printing plant in Exton.

Here is the borough's letter, authorized by a vote on June 11:

It's a little hard to read, so, at the risk of seeming self-serving, I'll quote the key sentences: "The award-winning, Pultizer Prize-winning journalists are the backbone of Pottstown, its community and its residents, providing stories and information each and every day. Local news, local government and school information allows officials and the public to remain transparent and accountable to its fellow-constituents and fulfills the mission and goals of true journalism."

And here is the school board's letter which the board members agreed to sign at the June 21 meeting:

Also a bit hard to read, so again here are some salient sentences: "Shuttering of the building will have serious negative economic effects on our community's efforts to revitalize our downtown business area. In a small community of 5.2 square miles with a population of 22,000 people, the loss of every physical asset has a tremendous negative economic and psychological effect."

Here is a video of the discussion had by the school board prior to the vote. (Apologies in advance. Like my photos, my video skills remain stubbornly rudimentary):



Sadly not caught on camera were comments by Board Vice President Katina Bearden, a lifelong resident of Pottstown, who talked about what The Mercury has meant to her over the years.

(How odd that I got something in both eyes at just as Bearden began speaking that made it hard to see the controls on my i-Phone through my watering eyes...)

Katina Bearden

When the school district was in the process of deciding whether to desegregate its buildings decades ago, due to the fact that a high concentration of minority students lived in the attendance area of the former Jefferson Elementary School, it was The Mercury, she said, who gave that effort voice.

"The Mercury was on the forefront of desegregation. That was the first time I saw minority faces on the front page, in a big spread, that were not there because they had done something wrong," she said.

"The roots of The Mercury are deep in this town and we need an entity which keeps people accountable," Bearden said.

My sincere thanks to both council and the school on behalf of The Mercury staff, none of whom look forward to this re-location.

However, it is time for a reality check.

Appreciated as your letters are, the council and board members need to know they will not change the decision to re-locate The Mercury's operations to its printing plant. It has already happened to The Daily Local News in West Chester, The Times-Herald in Norristown and even to The Denver Post -- all owned by Digital First Media.

Remember, all those newspapers are still publishing every day and so will The Mercury for the foreseeable future. For the average reader, there will be no change. It will still be there in the driveway or the corner store every morning.

I will continue, for the most part, to operate here in borough, mostly from my attic office which, if I can get my act together, may soon have an air conditioning unit. No doubt, occasional visits to Exton will be necessary.

It is also incumbent on us all, as we wrestle with this question of how to keep local news sustainable, to recognize the relocation is better than the alternative.

Newspapers across the nation are struggling and, with the exception of the

The JRO printing facility in Exton, will be the new
official home of The Mercury operations.

occasional billionaire who buys up a local publication and is willing to except meager or non-existent profits to keep it alive, there are not a lot of buyers out there.

The Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News is experimenting with a non-profit model. We all wish them luck in hopefully blazing a new path for the business that others can follow.

So yes, the owners of Digital First Media, the New York-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital, is not in the business to invest in their newspapers to make them grow. That has been proven difficult to do and that is not their business model.

They are owners of newspapers not to build them, but to "right size" them, as they recently told the Denver Post newsroom, and primarily to extract profits and yes, the evidence suggests they are doing so rapaciously. Welcome to the capitalist system.

But, as one well-placed source put the question to me recently, "when you have to choose between death today or the death of a thousand cuts, which one keeps you alive longer?"

It's a fair point.

This is not a new, or terribly energy efficient building
and its upkeep requires a lot of money.

So if The Mercury can save $300,000 or $400,000 or $500,000 a year in overhead by not operating a building that is too large for its needs, is it not the prudent business decision to take that savings and live to publish another day?

And will some of the profit from those savings go to the owners with high profit demands? Most likely. But without a buyer for the paper, there are no other options.

In truth, we three entities are not much different.

Did the school district not just outsource its entire transportation department and close its copy center to save money?

Did the borough not ask the state to conduct a complete audit of its finances and operations to find every savings possible to prevent another 12 percent tax hike?

Much like The Mercury is battling reduced advertising (and subscription) revenues due to a splintering of its audience on the Internet, the borough and school district are trying to compensate for reduced tax revenues from dwindling property assessments -- and the loss of Pottstown Hospital from the tax rolls -- and are making savings everywhere they can.

So must we.

It's an emotional thing to leave a place you worked for 20 years, particularly when you will still see it every day.

But times change.

And so while I recognize that the shuttering of The Mercury building may be an unavoidable financial decision if we want to continue to publish, it's gratifying to be able report the "official" recognition of the elected officials I am paid to oversee and, when warranted, expose or criticize, that such work is necessary in the service of democracy.

In the meantime, see you on Twitter. Speaking of which, here are the Tweets from Thursday's school board meeting:

Fighting for Fair School Funding