This cryptic line was recently posted by VizEd member William Fouts in a blog entry.
“Today was an extraordinarily sad day. Today, I posted OUR obituary.”
William worked for The Noblesville Daily Times and its Web site, Hamilton County Today.
His video above documents the decision to shutter the paper and stop the presses in a small Indiana town.
After watching the clip, I reached out to him through the VizEds network to explain what happened in his newsroom.
The Noblesville Daily Times was founded by local owners in 2003. The paper revived the name of the city’s original newspaper. It was quickly taken over by South Bend-based Schurz Communications.
The Daily Times was founded in response to community demand for a daily paper after our competitor, the Noblesville Ledger, changed from a daily to a weekly publication. The Ledger is now a neighborhood insert in the Indianapolis Star.
If I’ve accounted for everyone in the end credits, there were 24 of us on staff when the bomb dropped last Wednesday. We were family. The vast majority who were there at the end were there at the beginning.
We were always under revenue pressure. It would have been easy and understandable to jump ship but most did not. We were dedicated to producing the best paper we could and building a successful business.
I’m sure you can imagine shooting video around the office in the final hours was a melancholy experience. I wondered to myself why I hadn’t shot video of my colleagues in happier times.
It is important to note Hamilton County, Ind. borders Indianapolis to the north. It is, if not the, one of the fastest growing counties in the nation. In addition to Noblesville (40,000+ residents), we covered the cities of Fishers (60,000+), Carmel (60,000+), Westfield (25,000+) and the smaller towns of Cicero, Sheridan, Arcadia and Atlanta.
Not one of those communities now has a dedicated local paper.
Thanks for sharing this painful experience with us, William.
Rest in Peace, Noblesville Daily Times and best wishes to the former staff in pursuing their next adventures.
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