The blank front page of Wednesday’s issue of the Northeast News was a warning sign to the community about what might come if it ceased publication. The newspaper is in dire financial straits.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The Kansas City Northeast News made a statement on the front page of Wednesday’s edition. They left it blank, deliberately so. The newspaper, like so many news outlets, has lost money during the pandemic as loyal local advertisers like grocery stores couldn’t afford ads. The 89-year-old newspaper is free.
Abby Cambiano Hoover, the newspaper’s managing editor, told The Washington Post that many in northeast Kansas City do not have regular Internet service and rely on their printed newspaper to learn about news nearby, like telling the story of the immigrant who’s opening a new store and talking to kids about getting a new soccer field. Stories like that are so special and important to the people who live where we do, she said. Maybe a blank front page will remind readers of what could disappear.
(SOUNDBITE OF BILL FRISELL’S “THANKFUL”)
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