Welcome to Isthmus, issue number 26. That means we're halfway through the calendar year 2009. It also means that we end our fiscal year for 2008-09, and we end it with a whimper, not a bang, with one of our smallest issues, at 32 pages.
This has certainly been a tough year, whether fiscal or calendar. Media of all types have been going through systemic change as the digital age has taken hold. For newspapers the change has been especially wrenching. It started with the erosion of classified advertising; that revenue source nearly evaporated with the proliferation of free ads online. We've stabilized that category, as people have rediscovered the value of ads in the newspaper, though volume is just a fraction of what it was.
About the time that we were figuring out the classified conundrum, the nation's economy began to fracture, with dire consequences for many industries and businesses. Houses, cars and jobs all went south, and those categories constitute a huge part of the economy.
We've been reacting all along to the challenges, and have a much leaner and efficient operation than we did a year ago. Our website, TheDailyPage.com, has developed nicely and is well trafficked. We've had a mobile site for some time, and our new version, , but that space in the paper will now go toward helping you fill your tummy.
