AVA Suspends Print Edition 

The last print copy of the Anderson Valley Advertiser, a weekly newspaper covering Mendocino County since 1952, arrived in local stores this week.

Weeks before the May 1, 2024, edition was printed, longtime editor Bruce Anderson was asked why he decided to publish his newspaper strictly online, and about the future of print newspapers:

Q Why are you suspending your print edition?

A The decrepitude that comes with age, and a general inability to do the demanding work of print journalism at the level I think it should be done, all because of the energy deficits that come with the years.

Q What do you mean by “suspending” your print edition? Does that mean you might revive it?

A We’re finished. I’m half dead, my principal colleague, Mark Scaramella, is staving off heart problems.

Q Is there much overlap between print subscribers and on-line subscribers, or are they completely different animals?

A Not much overlap, is my general impression. Print subs began to plummet when America dove into handheld gizmos. Print interest also declined as the last print generation began to head for the big library in the sky. We have more on-line subscribers these days and, ahem, we seem to have become a daily must read for this county’s intelligentsia, deploying intelligentsia in the loosest sense.

Q What do you know about your print subscribers? Who are they, and why do they get the paper copy?

A Not much other than lots of them are/were as attached to print media as we are, and enjoyed the quality of much of the writing. Our weekly product, lo these many years, has always been a lively read.

Q What do you see as the future of print journalism? Does it have one?

A No future. It’s over. Few people get their information from print, hence a looming presidential race between senility and depravity, which wouldn’t have happened when people could still read and words had specific meanings.

(Ukiah Daily Journal)