Facing financial hardship, Jewish Journal asks readers for donations
“The Journal would not be the same if we could not hold it in our hands.”
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Jewish Journal is facing financial hardship, and the Salem-based publication is asking its readers for help via donations.
In an editorial dated Wednesday, newspaper staff note that they’re facing about a $150,000 shortfall caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Part of that comes from a drop in advertising. Another contributing factor is that the paper had to put off its annual fundraiser, which usually brings in about $70,000.
“The health emergency has upended everyone’s lives,” part of the message to the community says. “As we follow social distance guidelines and try to stay healthy, we also must plan for an uncertain future.”
The Journal’s financial troubles come at a time when many other small, local publications are facing layoffs, staff pay cuts, and limiting, or completely abandoning, a print product. Challenges have also hit larger papers, like The Boston Herald, which announced layoffs including columnists and reporters last week.
Over half of the Journal’s budget comes from local advertising, but much of that advertising has dropped off due to the crisis.
In a separate article, Neil Donnenfield, the president of the Journal’s Board of Overseers, said the paper, which has been published for over 40 years, has already trimmed $50,000 in expenses, and is applying to the federal Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Program. The paper has just two full-time staffers and five part-timers.
The paper doesn’t want to eliminate its print product and go digital only, Donnenfield said.
“Although eliminating our paper presence and going digital would significantly reduce our costs, we feel it would disenfranchise many of our readers, especially those who have been with us since our inception, and we will do that only as a last resort,” he said. “The Journal would not be the same if we could not hold it in our hands.”
The Journal staff note in the editorial that “every generation has its great challenge,” considering prior generations that immigrated from Europe, the struggles of The Great Depression, and the Holocaust, which killed 6 million Jewish people.
“As we mark Passover this year, we are hoping that the community will respond to our emergency fundraising effort,” part of the editorial reads. “Please consider sending the Journal a generous donation during this holiday. As a partner in our cherished community, you have the opportunity to make a difference and help keep the Journal publishing. In this season of miracles and freedom, much of our future rests in your hands.”
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