by Melanie Jongsma, Publisher
LANSING, Ill. (July 3, 2021) – Earlier this week I read some alarming statistics about newspapers in America — traditional newsrooms are shrinking, news coverage is disappearing, and small towns are becoming “news deserts.”
To be honest, my first reaction was to write a somewhat-urgent “appeal” post, which published on June 30. I wanted to make sure Lansing Journal readers realize how tenuous our situation is. I wanted to add some new names to our family of supporters, to increase the buffer between survival and extinction.
But on July 1, the start of a new month, I looked back at June’s activities, and my anxiety was softened by gratitude.
More than 120 people made a contribution to The Lansing Journal in June. Some of them give because they want to “pay for” their free subscription. Others understand the costs involved in quality journalism, and they want to help cover those costs. A few know me personally and want to support me as much as the paper.
It’s possible that one or two saw the same stats I saw, and they gave out of fear of losing their community newspaper. But probably not.
I think most of the people listed below give out of hope rather than fear, joy rather than obligation, gratitude not resentment.
Seeing this list was a reminder to me to just take a deep breath and say thank-you.
Thank you, June supporters, for keeping this newspaper going for another month. Thank you for your encouraging notes (see sidebar) and your expressions of appreciation. Thank you for being patient with us as we figure out new ways of reporting and publishing local news — efficiently and effectively.
Thank you for believing in the work we are doing, and thank you for supporting it. Thank you for continuing to ensure that this community has a community newspaper.
Thank you, June supporters
- A & S Painting
- Lindsey and Saad Abbasy
- Karen Adams
- American Legion Riders
- Donna Marshall Attinello
- Annmarie Aud
- Judith Beezhold
- Dan Bergan
- Barry Bergstrom
- Susan Bovino
- Theresa Bresnahan
- John Bush
- Maryann Centracchio
- Richard Christian
- Laurel Clausing
- June and John Cole
- Greg and Jane Compeau
- Marlene Cook
- Diane Costello
- Denise Cox
- Kerry Czarobski
- Debbie DeNardo
- Lisa Doorn
- Fran Duffy
- Barb and Rich Dust
- Betty Dykstra
- Donald Dykstra
- Roseann Dykstra
- Alexa Edwards
- Margaret Evans
- Sandra Farmer
- Frank Fetters
- Fine Tune Auto
- Marilyn Freeman
- Jim and Judy Friesema
- Tina Funchion
- Jeff Gajewski
- Rebecca Garcia
- Edward Gonzalez
- Evelyn Gossman
- Jacob Gourley
- Cynthia Griffiths
- Patty Grigutis
- Anonymous Donor
- Cam and Megan Harvey
- Julie Hiskes
- Ted and Helen Hnatusko
- Ralph and Lois Hoekstra
- Marjorie Holme
- Mark Hornung
- Donna Huizenga
- Stephanie Jansma
- Melanie Jongsma
- Anonymous Friends
- Jean Klacik
- Frank Knittle
- Judith Koch
- Pat Kremer
- Cynthia Krusza
- Pamela Lancy
- Ron and Gloria Lang
- Bruce Langman
- Jim and Suzanne Long
- Luci Lugowski
- Kathleen Maanum
- Frances Mabry
- Cheryl and George McNamara
- Dehlia Mendoza
- Lynda Mendoza
- Roberto Mendoza
- Christine Merchat
- Chuck Murach
- Nauta Enterprises
- Care Newhof
- Marilou Ooms
- Grant Oppenhuis
- Mary Beth Palka
- Thomas Panichi
- Robert Parrent
- Moira Peterson
- Richard Podgorski
- Rosemarie Polgar
- Jay and Chris Popp
- Joanne Pritchard
- Lorraine Przybyl
- Jean Qualls
- Anonymous Donor
- Penelope Rellis
- Jane Roseen
- Anonymous Supporter
- Jennifer Saia
- Carol Schaap
- Sandy Schultz
- Schultz Insurance Agency
- Dave Schurman
- Pete and Shirley Schurman
- Robert Shimala
- Connie Simon
- Todd Simon
- Slaughter & Associates
- Michelle Smith
- Richard and Frieda Smits
- Kelsee Stallinga
- John Stole
- Raymond Sutorius
- Jim Sweeney
- Carol Taylor
- Linda Todd
- Anonymous Friends
- Virginia and John Ulaszek
- Leo Valencia
- James Van Milligen
- Rita VanDrunen
- Gerrit Veenstra
- Tim Vermeer
- Sandy Vree
- Scott Wagner
- Phyllis Warsen
- Waters Edge Aquascaping
- Dana Wood
- Robert Wood
- Patricia Yos
- Chris Zdanowski
Hello Melanie,
It has been exciting to see the Lansing Journal progress in staffing and coverage. I look forward to reading each day’s edition. With the growth of your publication I would imagine your readership will be expanding as well. Many subscribers receive the paper electronically and that should increase as people move on to other communities but still wish to keep up to date on Lansing news. Your addition of a weekly video that summarizes the week’s highlights is a fabulous idea. Many of the major newspapers do this as well. May I respectfully submit that perhaps instead of leading off with the greeting, “Hello Lansing” that you welcome recipients with a greeting such as “Greetings from the Lansing Journal.” Although a fairly minor detail, it will indeed increase the sense of membership that such a video may inspire.
Thank you for your kind encouragement, Robert. And I love your idea about changing our greeting in our weekly videos — you are absolutely right to point out that not all our readers are in Lansing proper, and we certainly don’t want to make any of our readers/viewers feel excluded. Josh and I will be sure to make that correction in upcoming videos. We appreciate your input!