New Era for an Old Broadsheet

Now begins a new chapter at the Vineyard Gazette, the newspaper of record for the Island since 1846 that was sold last week to philanthropists and seasonal residents Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg. There is much anticipation, excitement and interest, both inside the paper and out, over this moment and what it may mean for the future.

The Gazette welcomes this and looks forward to a lively conversation with its readers in the months ahead. Expressions of congratulations have begun to come in from the Gazette’s many friends, and a few arrows have begun to fly from its many critics. And that is as it should be. It calls to mind an exchange reported some years back from a seminar held among newspaper professionals. What is the single key to a successful newspaper? The question posed by a seasoned editor from a New Jersey weekly went around the table with all the predictable answers: advertising revenue, subscriptions, etc. But her answer which eluded all the newspaper people was this: readers.

Readers are the Gazette’s core value and its gold bullion. And at a moment of change such as this, it is important to remember that the newspaper exists to serve them. It is a well-settled fact that newspapers are in a period of rapid and unprecedented change, and readers now have a dizzying menu of choices. But where can you find the news of what is happening in your town, your neighborhood, your school, or what’s playing at your local theatre this weekend? The answer is in your community newspaper.

As for predictions about the future, consider the words of the late Gazette editor Henry Hough, who wrote the following in 1929 after announcing the purchase of a new printing press for the paper:

“It is best, perhaps, to refrain from saying too much for the future; let us be content to say that the Island newspaper is better equipped for the duties it should perform and it is to be hoped that the future will speak for itself.”