Though it’s been more than two years since the Gravette, Gentry and Decatur newspapers merged, and the new, combined edition — the Westside Eagle Observer — is doing well, I still often hear people ask why the merger was necessary and why it isn’t possible for each community to have its own paper.

The simple, honest answer is that there wasn’t enough support from advertising revenue to pay the costs of publish- ing three separate news- papers. Therefore, rather than simply ceasing to publish a newspaper and no longer serve the resi- dents of the west side of Benton County, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC chose to combine the three papers into one and continue to serve the community with local coverage of news, events and sports.

Why has it come to this point when newspapers in each community were published — at least off and on — for more than 100 years? I’m not an expert, but I’ll share with you my analysis of the situation in hopes that it will help answer the questions I hear.

So that you understand, the costs of publishing a newspaper — which includes staff to cover the news, write stories, take photos and lay out the newspaper; staff to sell and design advertising; printing costs; mailing and delivery costs; office expenses and more — are paid for by subscriptions and advertising. And subscription fees really don’t cover much more than postage. So, if fewer community businesses adver- tise in the newspaper and advertising revenue falls off, costs have to be cut in order to keep publishing.

Some might wonder why local advertising revenue

has declined for many small-town newspapers, and the most obvious answer is to simply look at what has happened to Main Street businesses in the last 20 or 30 years. Look at the empty stores, stores that were once thriving, prosperous busi- nesses. So many small- town businesses have failed because they were unable to compete against big-box retailers, shopping malls and other chain stores. Fewer hometown businesses means less local advertising in local newspapers and less rev- enue to produce the pa- pers in an economy where costs continue to rise.

Add to the decline in local, small-town businesses the many ways in which businesses may advertise today. At one time, the town newspaper was the only way to get the word out and let people know of the products and services offered. Now, in addition to radio and television, there’s the Internet and a variety of other ways to promote products and services locally and worldwide.

The Internet has also added a multitude of sources for news and information, though sometimes unreliable and often not local — unless they are supplied by a local newspaper staff. Though it would be nice if everyone did — and subscriptions keep coming in every day — we at the Eagle Observer know that not everyone reads the news- paper, whether ours or a larger daily paper.

The sad fact is that in many communities where the presses have stopped and the doors have been locked, coverage of local news and events has also ceased. Then, not only are the townspeople uninformed of local news and events, no one serves as a watchdog over local gov-ernment and, sometimes, tax dollars are misspent and corruption becomes unchecked.

Think about it. If local newspapers are forced to close, who will report on government meetings, cover local sports and events, or even promote the community and its activities?

So, like many other businesses struggling in a troubled economy and in an ever-changing world, newspapers — including the Eagle Observer — are forced to find ways to cut costs and yet provide good news coverage. They are working on ways to adapt to modern technology and serve not only the traditional newspaper subscriber but the online reader and subscriber as well.

Will newspapers cease to exist? I don’t think so. There will always be people who like to sit down and read the news and look at the photos of local people and events. Will newspapers change the way they report and publish the news? That’s already happening and probably won’t stop anytime soon.

The challenge for news- papers is to continue to adapt to the times. News- papers can’t afford to quit what they’ve always done — cover local news and events — but they need to do it better. And they can’t ignore the modern technology in their readers’ homes, purses and pockets. They need to adapt to it and use it to make news- papers even better.

In essence, the birth of the Eagle Observer kept alive local newspaper cov- erage in Gravette, Decatur, Gentry and the surround- ing communities. And, in many ways, the merger has been a success. But we’re not planning to sit back and do nothing more. We remain committed to improving local coverage and providing that local news and information in an evechanging world.

Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be reached by email at rmoll@ nwaonline.com.