Readers and supporters of the Falls Church News-Press are being called on to drive a return to the home delivery of the paper to every household in the City of Falls Church.
The News-Press has established a crowdfunding account that anyone can use to put contributions toward this end. Financial issues compelled this paper to abandon its free home delivery component earlier this year after almost three decades of providing everyone in the Little City with the paper on their doorsteps.
Now, by popular demand, the weekly newspaper has established a mechanism for financing the return to that popular, long-standing practice.
The newspaper’s impact on its hometown community has not suffered from the transition to bulk-site-only distribution. The same number of papers as before have been delivered in this new fashion and surveys conducted have established that the papers are being read each week at the same level they were during home delivery.
But in response to overwhelming reader and supporter sentiment, the paper has nonetheless decided to give a return to carrier home delivery another shot.
The delivery will still include availability at bulk sites and, notably, in the mailrooms of the now significant numbers of multi-dwelling apartment and condo buildings in town.
“We have never abandoned our goal over the last more than three decades to make our paper available to anyone and everyone in Falls Church and the surrounding areas who wants it,” said Nicholas F. Benton, founding owner and editor of the News-Press. “So, if people feel it is more favorable to have the paper dropped at everyone’s doorstep, then we’ll give it another try. But it will have to work for us financially.”
There is no question that the News-Press has been beating the odds to stay in business with its weekly print edition in a climate over the last decades that has been horrendous for print journalism, generally, and local newspapers, in particular.
“To anyone who recognizes the role the News-Press has played in Falls Church civic life in these three dozen years, helping to restore home delivery is not a matter of one’s own interest, but of the community interest as a whole. We hope that enough Falls Church citizens, and those anywhere who recognize the importance of this, will step up with generous contributions to make this campaign a success,” News-Press managing editor Nick Gatz said.
Over the last three decades the United States has seen a steady, structural retreat of print newspapers — a loss driven by falling circulation, evaporating advertising dollars, consolidation, and changing audience habits. At the turn of the century weekday print circulation in the U.S. was roughly 55–56 million; by 2020 it had fallen to about 24 million, a decline that continued into the 2020s as readers migrated to free online sources and social platforms for quick news and search-driven access.
The economic engine that once supported local papers — classified and display advertising — largely migrated to digital platforms. Classified revenue vanished as Craigslist and other online marketplaces replaced help-wanted and for-sale sections; display advertisers followed audiences to Facebook, Google and programmatic ad networks. As Brookings and industry analyses show, total newspaper ad revenue fell dramatically, forcing newsroom layoffs, reduced publication frequency, and cuts to local reporting capacity. Fewer reporters and thinner pages became an industry norm.
Another striking indicator is the rate of closures: research tracking local journalism notes thousands of print newspapers have disappeared since the mid-2000s — more than 3,200 titles gone since 2005 — and the country has been losing papers at a pace of roughly two per week in recent years. That attrition has created expanding “news deserts” where municipal government, school boards, courts and local business coverage is sparse or nonexistent.
Northern Virginia mirrors the national trend, though its proximity to major metro media has softened some effects while exposing others. Longstanding community weeklies and hyperlocal titles have folded or sharply reduced print frequency; prominent regional titles have cut print days, merged operations, or shifted to digital-first models. Examples include the disappearance of historic local publications and the Sun Gazette’s 2023 closure and re-formation under new stewardship — a pattern of contraction followed by small-scale reinvention.
The Falls Church News-Press stands out as a remarkable exception to the national decline of print newspapers. Founded by Benton in 1991, it has maintained continuous weekly publication and strong local readership for more than three decades — a rarity in an era when thousands of local papers have folded.
Serving the City of Falls Church and surrounding Northern Virginia communities, the News-Press has succeeded by focusing relentlessly on hyperlocal coverage: city government, schools, community events, and economic development.
While larger papers shifted to digital-first strategies and reduced neighborhood reporting, the News-Press continued printing and circulating free copies each Thursday. Through steadfast leadership, a recognizable voice, and community trust, the News-Press has become both chronicler and advocate for local life.
Its endurance demonstrates that in tightly knit communities where residents see their lives reflected in print, a local newspaper can still thrive — proving that the civic value of journalism, when rooted in place, can outlast industry trends.
Contributions to the News-Press’ restore home delivery campaign can be made at giveahand.com/fundraiser/news-press-home-delivery or by scanning the Q code that appears elsewhere in this edition.
