The final edition of the "Wellsville Daily Reporter" is today. On Tuesday, June 19th, it will premier as "The Spectator," a newly merged effort of the Reporter and the Hornell Evening Tribune. The reminder was front page news in today's Wellsville edition. Genius, pure and simple. Regional Editor Chris Potter wrote, "You're holding in your hands a piece of local history, the final edition of the Wellsville Daily Reporter as a solo enterprise." Hmmm, ya think that will spike sales? I mean, who doesn't want a piece of local history? I bow to brilliance and admire a business that knows how to increase revenues.
The Reporter and Tribune have been living together for years, but now its time for the actual marriage. On the outside, everyone is smiling (we've all been there). The only thing that matters is, will reader's support the broadened news coverage, the regional approach (ya know, like I use successfully and am routinely copied) and will advertisers see a better return on investment. For the staffs...and the communities, I truly hope so. Wellsville and Hornell have a need for a daily newspaper. Yes, jokes have been made about both operations, but then again, name a media outlet, including WRN, that hasn't been to subject of scorn. My rule - when people bitch, it means you're doing something right...you have captured the attention of consumers.
Gatehouse Media, which owns both the Reporter and Tribune (and tons of other publications) must have done research and decided this made financial sense. However, sometimes what makes financial sense for a company doesn't always make sense for a community. Just consider Siemen's/Dresser-Rand...
