In last week’s e-mail:

I was once a carrier for the Post many years ago. I treasure this city and your paper and I am concerned about its future. Are we in danger of losing our newspaper?

I’m concerned that in these difficult times the paper might be at risk. I see the size of the paper slowly diminishing and the advertisements slowing. That hits me hard. This paper and the community it serves are very important to me.

I’m asking you what can I do to help keep this important resource and maintain its place in my life. If you have any suggestions, I’d appreciate them. If I’m way off base, please forgive my inferences. But if I can help preserve this critically important source of information in this community, I want to do it.

My reply:

Sorry for the delay responding. Been on the road and, at least for now, I’m not one of those who communicates nonstop.

There is no chance of The Vicksburg Post or 99.9 percent of other newspapers in the nation closing.

Two major things are going on.

One is the economy. The number of pages in an edition is driven by the ad count for that day’s edition. The number of ads is driven by commerce. As commerce gins back up, we expect more advertising that will underwrite the cost of producing more pages. In the interim, some editions actually have more space for news and information than we might have when the ad count is higher.

Second is the transition to Internet editions. No one knows if or when the Internet will become so prevalent that printed newspapers become obsolete. Mississippi will likely be one of the last places that occurs, if it ever occurs. If it does occur, and the printed product serves no purpose, then it would not make sense to have a printed paper. That’s a marketplace decision, however, not one newspapers will make on their own.

There is no less demand for news. On the contrary, there is more. The New York Times can now quantify that it has more daily readers than ever. Some of that is due to increasing interest, but it’s mainly because the Internet resolves printing and delivery challenges. It would not surprise me to learn readership of The Vicksburg Post is increasing, too. Our letters volume is up, if that’s any indicator.

As many of us newspaper folk have written, there is no source for local news better than a local newspaper. That’s not a pat on the back. It’s just how it is. The New York Times and CNN and even The Clarion-Ledger and Jackson television will never be comparable in the quantity of Vicksburg information a Vicksburg newspaper will contain.

As long as people see it as in their interest to have information about their communities (and that number has been trending down), the Post will continue to have customers if we provide what they seek. Advertisers want to get the most bang for their buck, so local stores and service providers will continue to use local papers to reach the most people at the lowest cost.

Three of the papers making recent headlines for closing or changing to an Internet-only format all had other issues. The Chicago paper was operating at a profit — covering costs of operations and making money for the owner. Problem was, the owner had over-leveraged it and it wasn’t making enough to carry the “mortgage.” The papers shut down in Denver and Seattle had entered JOAs (joint operating agreements) and their owners simply opted to consolidate and put all their eggs in the stronger paper in each market.

That’s a long answer. Sorry.

It heartens me to know someone is passionate enough about the local paper to inquire how we’re doing. I am one of about 100 employees here, not an investor or owner, but it means a lot to me that you have asked. My short answer would be that we could be in better shape, but no one here is in a panic.

As for your second question, it is also appreciated.

The best thing to do to help those of us whose jobs depend on reporting on Vicksburg and neighboring towns is to encourage people to care about where they live. Reinforce the fact that the quality of life here is controlled by the people who live here. It is a myth that everything that happens here is decided somewhere else. And, in conversation, use this phrase a lot: “Did you see in the paper where…?”