This is the biggest challenge the Herts Advertiser has ever faced. I’m asking for your help to overcome it.
The Herts Advertiser is asking for your support during the coronavirus crisis. - Credit: Archant
Dear reader
Have you heard the phrase “news desert”? It’s been coined in America to describe what is left behind when a newspaper closes down and the community it served is suddenly left without a source of credible and comprehensive news and information.
You can guess what happens next in those places when the vital scrutiny that a campaigning, investigative local newspaper provides is gone; when no-one is there to shine a light on that which is hidden from the public.
I’m determined that St Albans and Harpenden will never become a news desert - and I need your help to stop it happening.
That’s why I’m asking you to give your financial support to our work. You can contribute any amount you like, as a one-off or a recurring contribution.
Why am I asking this now?
More of you are reading the Herts Advertiser than ever before, and increasingly that is on your mobile phones, tablets and laptops rather than in print.
Most Read
- 1 Council confirms first monkeypox case in Hertfordshire
- 2 Police probe into death of man in 20s at 'Kinky Towers' in Hertfordshire
- 3 Recap: Rail delays through St Albans and Harpenden after train hits branch
- 4 The Crossrail connections to Hertfordshire which were never built
- 5 Jubilee garden opened at Harpenden primary school
- 6 Peregrine falcon chick hatches at St Albans Cathedral in a city first
- 7 School's generous donation to foodbank
- 8 Fire crews receive 'multiple' 999 calls amid large blaze at Welham Green
- 9 St Albans garden centre dedicates fundraising year to Brain Tumour Research
- 10 Goods worth more than £260 in total stolen from St Albans Co-op store
We’re delighted to serve so many of you - but please understand that trusted journalism costs money to produce, and the money we make from digital page views is a fraction of that from paper sales.
Our advertising revenues have also been hit by the tech giants, many of whom pay little or no tax here.
Still, we are determined to continue to keep fighting for you and our area.
In recent years, the Herts Advertiser has brought you our It’s OK to Say campaign lifting the stigma on mental health, covered the opposition to the controversial Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI), and most recently launched the #ThereWithYou campaign to help get our communities through the coronavirus crisis and show our support for the NHS.
So please help us with a contribution to supporting award-winning local journalism that makes a measurable difference to our community.
Every single gesture of support will help us make sure St Albans district does not become a news desert.
Thank you
Anne Suslak, editor
