The newspaper industry has changed over the past couple of decades. Instant access to news through the internet has changed the game, especially for those who have little time, or don’t want to spend the time, to sit down and read the physical newspaper.

Although we have an aging population in our readership area – many of whom still purchase the newspaper and read it while having a cup of coffee in the morning or at night when TV isn’t interesting – we still need to reach the younger set to continue our 146-year-old business. Yes, we have a free online presence but that doesn’t mean that people ages 10 to 30 are regularly checking into our websites or reading the physical product.

I have two granddaughters, 10 and soon to be 14, and unless my daughter and son-in-law (who admit to just regularly reading the online version) actually buy a newspaper or point out a story online that might interest them, I fear that they aren’t, and are not going to be, regular readers. My generation was different – we only had the physical paper that Dad or Mom brought home, so we used to read it weekly.

We have been discussing ways to capture young readers’ eyes and hope to do more to accomplish that goal in the future. We do our best with a small staff to cover what we can in the schools, YMCA and recreational activities, but the pandemic kind of set us back a couple of years.

If you have any ideas to help with our goal, please let me know. Send your idea via email to kevinburnham@boothbayregister.com