For over 1,750 consecutive weekly issues, the Falls Church News-Press has been delivered, free of charge, to every doorstep in the City of Falls Church (and multiple businesses and boxes throughout the region).
We are currently one of the last, if not the last, remaining general weekly print newspaper in Northern Virginia — and we need your immediate support to survive.
Today we are asking members of the community to commit to a small monthly contribution, long-term. Our hope is that community support will not only provide the shot in the arm the Falls Church News-Press needs to survive the year, but provide ongoing support to allow us to sustain our operations long-term.
Test for Melissa
- Democracy Defender ($99/month)
- We believe newspapers are the foundation of a healthy democracy, and the experts agree: newspapers build community, encourage economic development, improve a sense of community, and fuel civic engagement and activism.6 Falls Church is thriving on these counts, and we know we’ve been a part of that.
- Help keep Falls Church the most engaged community in Virginia with a donation of just $99 per month.
- Future Funder ($249/month)
- Though times are tough, we believe our continued existence is critical to the future of the community. Commit $249/month (or more) to help secure a bright future for local journalism in Falls Church and the greater region to help the News-Press:
- Expand business and bulk distribution in the region.
- Restore staffing and increase community coverage.
- Help reinstate newspapers in neighboring areas.
- Though times are tough, we believe our continued existence is critical to the future of the community. Commit $249/month (or more) to help secure a bright future for local journalism in Falls Church and the greater region to help the News-Press:
To make a custom monthly donation amount (minimum $19.91), click here.
To make a one-time donation (minimum $25), click here.
Never Has Democracy Been So On The Line.
When the Falls Church News-Press printed its first edition on March 28, 1991, daily newspaper circulation was at its peak in the U.S.: more than 124 million subscribers between weekday and Sunday issues. Today each have just under 21 million.1
Over the past two decades, one-third of local newspapers closed, with many writing the phenomenon off as a natural move part of society’s move to digital… but newspapers aren’t going digital – they’re closing. When newspapers close, the stories from their communities stop being told. Communities lose a part of their identities.
But perhaps most importantly, newspapers employ nearly the entire journalism field. As one-third of newspapers closed, two-thirds of journalism jobs disappeared.3
Digital news, without print news, is unreliable and prone to influence. Today one in five adults primarily use social media for news – a jump of 50 percent just in the last year.6 Despite this, an increasing number (40 percent) complain the news on social media is inaccurate, and the vast majority still trust news outlets for basic facts, in-depth details, breaking updates, or expert analysis.7
Half of U.S. counties are now down to a single, usually weekly, publication; nearly seven percent now have no newspaper at all, with another seven percent at imminent risk of their last one closing.2
These papers aren’t moving online — they’re being acquired, scrapped for parts, and closed — the most recent local example being the Gazette Leader. And nothing fills that journalistic void for the community: despite nearly 3,000 papers closing since 2005, just 550 digital-only newspapers exist today.2
When a local newspaper fails, local media coverage fails along with it. The community’s visibility is muted. The record is no longer kept. An interesting story won’t be seen, or picked up by a national news outfit, because the story won’t be written in the first place.
Print holds it all together.
The Paradigm Has Shifted. We Need You.
We at the News-Press believe in technology (our website averages over one million monthly visitors) — but we aren’t an online newspaper.
We believe that (sustainably) printed newspapers continuing is critical to the integrity of online news — and the continuation of the field of journalism as we know it.
Local newspapers instill a unique sense of identity in the communities they support, by providing a credible, tangible, consumable dose of information. They provide visitors with activities, dining, and real estate tips. They recognize school sports victories. They cover local debates. They memorialize our lost. They keep the record.
We believe the community wants the News-Press to not only survive, but thrive long-term — and that to do so in today’s climate requires a paradigm shift. We’re asking community members like you to commit to a modest recurring contribution save the paper and restore our coverage levels. We believe this paradigm shift is necessary to save our paper — and may even offer hope to others facing imminent extinction.
References
1: pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/newspapers. 2: axios.com/2023/11/16/newspapers-decline-hedge-funds-research. 3: localnews.knilab.com/projects/state-of-local-news/2023/report. 4: pewresearch.org/journalism/2024/05/07/americans-changing-relationship-with-local-news. 5: nysba.org/why-local-news-matters-and-what-we-can-do-to-save-it. 6: pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/news-platform-fact-sheet. 7: pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/07/many-americans-find-value-in-getting-news-on-social-media-but-concerns-about-inaccuracy-have-risen.
