In this cruel economy, the news industry has suffered great losses over the past few years. October in particular has been a tough month for the newspapers in Florida.
We've been hearing about newspapers laying off employees, cutting back on the number of pages and transforming fully into online-only publications left and right.
But this weekend we heard some news that hit us really close to home.
We got word that the North Florida Herald, previously known as the High Springs Herald, a 60-year-old weekly newspaper based about 30 minutes north of Gainesville by way of I-75, will be going out of business.
Ronald Dupont, owner of the Herald, publisher and editor of the paper for the last eight years and a Gator grad, said in an email to intern applicants this weekend that the paper will be closing due to financial struggles.
That this award-winning newspaper will no longer be printing is a great shame for the whole community.
The Herald embodies what a community newspaper is supposed to be about. The paper is indomitable in local coverage.
For 60 years, the Herald has served the communities of High Springs, Alachua, Newberry and Fort White. Herald reporters have sat in on every City Commission meeting, met every police chief and have been at every festival and fundraiser held by each Lion's Club, Rotary Club and fire department.
For many years, the Herald was the Alligator's sister newspaper, published by the same company, and more than a handful of Alligator editors and reporters have held internships there. Dupont has always been a regular at the journalism internship fairs, ready with a big smile for applicants and Herald internship alumni.
The newspaper is practically a landmark. It is small, but Dupont and the paper are widely respected in newspaper circles.
We're sure the announcement will shock many, as it shocked us.
We encourage you all to stop and pick up an edition of the paper before it is too late. Read about how a corn maze in Newberry has helped save a family farm or how the City of Alachua plans to renovate the local recreation center.
The Editorial Board sends its best wishes to everyone at the North Florida Herald. The value of the service this paper has provided through the years cannot be measured. We are forever thankful.
We thank Ronald Dupont for being a stalwart over the years. Many Alligator alums have gone on to great careers after receiving his guidance. That guidance will be missed.
Because of his leadership, and because of the passion for journalism that lived in that newsroom, the feistiness of community journalism will not go away with the end of The North Florida Herald.
