By Edward Munster
(March 10, 2023) — It’s no big secret that newspapers, in general, are failing and losing readership. This may be because the large city newspapers have become so political and have abandoned local news and no longer place a value on community and people. Locally, the story is different.
Here in Middlesex County, our community paper strives to provide news that is important to our towns. The digital version of our paper, HK-Now.com, which went online in September 2014, and the print version, Haddam Killingworth News, which began publication in November 2016, have been guided by a sense of impartiality, including the presentation of different views. We make every effort to avoid conflicts of interest and speculation.
The Haddam Civic League, which publishes these newspapers, hears from our readers that we have become a valuable resource to our towns. This asset is free to the citizens of our towns but is expensive to produce. The cost to publish and mail this paper is borne almost entirely by our valued advertisers.
Freedom of the press, which is fundamental to our democracy and our way of life, is protected by our United States Constitution. Community newspapers like Haddam Killingworth News provide not just local news, but also the opportunity for our readers to exercise their freedom of speech, which we appreciate in the form of letters to the editors and the many articles that are submitted by local writers.
In order to be able to continue to offer this newspaper to our community, we do need your help. We welcome donations to the paper in the form of tax-deductible contributions because we are a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Checks can be made out to Haddam Civic League and sent to P.O. Box 15, Higganum, CT 06441.
Just as important, we need volunteers. Let’s be specific. We need a person or persons to sell ads, which are fundamental to provide the funding that supports the paper. We need people willing to attend and write articles covering the meetings of the boards and commissions in both Haddam and Killingworth. We need editors to help with producing the paper. We even need a person with a truck or a van willing to transport the papers from the printer to the post office, which then mails them to everyone in our two towns. None of these volunteer positions should take more than a few hours a month.
If you are a retiree with time on your hands… If you are a stay-at-home parent willing to get involved….If you are a high school or college student building a resume… We Need You. If you would consider helping in some capacity, no matter how small, please contact us by emailing HK-NowEditors@outlook.com. This is truly an opportunity to serve your community in a most valuable way.
