Editor’s note: Back in print, the RN&R’s mission continues

Internet, schmiternet!

I’ve been a newsPAPERman since a peanut farmer was president.

When the RN&R’s advertisers and distribution points shut down overnight in March 2020, our last issue had the finality of a tombstone. But after two years of surviving online, and at a time when print newspapers across the nation are dead or dying, we’re returning to ink and paper.

Alternative papers are supposed to be scrappy, but we’ve picked a pretty big fight. Production and transportation costs have doubled over the last two years, and advertisers still tightening their belts in the wake of the pandemic. The odds are against us.

But we’re back in the racks because we believe in the value of independent local journalism—and the power of print to focus on community issues without being lost in the online blizzard of information, national news, fake news, social-media prattle and cat videos. A print newspaper should be a mirror of the community it serves and dedicated to digging deep into local topics without fear or favor.

No corporation tells us what to print or ignore; no politician can make us spike a story. We aim a spotlight on the issues that will set the course of our region for generations. We provide a glimpse into the local arts scene, draw attention to neighborhood businesses, and celebrate the things and the people who make Northern Nevada a great place to live.

It’s our job to pull back the curtain to show readers what’s really going on behind the sound bites and hype. We ask questions that people in power don’t want to hear. We inform, entertain, educate and, on occasion, even inspire our readers. Our writers live here. They worry about housing costs and preserving our quality of life. They attend our schools, shop in our stores, drive on our roads, hike our trails, worship in our churches and care about our community.

Nobody will get rich from a print edition of the RN&R. Our goal is to make our paper and ink gamble sustainable, and deliver news and arts stories you won’t find anywhere else. If you want to offer us some advice, news tips, criticism or pen a letter to the editor, my email is frankm@renonr.com. And if you can pitch in with a donation to help keep us viable, there’s a button for that at RenoNR.com.

Meanwhile, I’ll see you in the funny papers.

Note: This is the editor’s note that was included in our June print edition.