Opinions

We need your help to continue helping our community

, and Tom Lappas

April 21, 2020 . 6:14 PM

3 min read

Dear Henrico Citizen Reader,

The COVID-19 outbreak has changed our community and our world in just a few short weeks, which have seemed more like an eternity in many ways. Businesses of all types have been hit hard – but perhaps none as noticeably as small businesses. The Henrico Citizen is no different. The pandemic has forced two of our three largest advertisers to halt their campaigns with us, while others have reduced theirs.

We’ve stopped publication of our print edition indefinitely, but we are working harder than ever to make our internet home, HenricoCitizen.com, as robust a source of daily Henrico news – seven days a week – as you can find. We’ve posted more than 100 articles there in the past month alone, providing intelligent, meaningful coverage of the virus and its impacts on all aspects of our community.

We’ve provided regular coverage of press briefings from local and state officials, analyzed and interpreted data and made Freedom of Information Act requests to learn more about the county’s response. We’re working on a long list of additional stories that will keep you informed about your county in the days and weeks ahead.

Our daily weekday podcast, the Henrico News Minute, provides a morning summary of our stories and notable Henrico impacts from the virus, as well as other county news that matters. We send a daily weekday email news update to readers. We post new updates five to 10 times a day or more on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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We’ve also done our best to use the platforms that we have to help others.

Following an application process, we selected 10 Henrico small businesses (25 employees or less) and awarded them each a free two-month digital advertising campaign (a total value of $14,000). We’re giving away free digital advertising to nonprofits anytime someone contributes $25 or more to our local journalism efforts. We’re offering a free month of digital advertising across all six of our digital platforms each time a client purchases a month at a deeply discounted rate.

We are a tiny company with four employees, including myself. Our news-gathering team is just two people, and I’m one of them. But we are determined to do right by this county and its people, and I’m proud of our efforts. This is our 19th year serving Henrico citizens. I don’t intend for it to be our last.

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All of our news coverage is free to readers and always has been. But it’s not free to produce.

We need your help. Our advertising revenue has been cut in half. Without funding to sustain what we do, we won’t be able to continue doing it. I don’t like asking for assistance, and I understand that most of us are overwhelmed trying to sustain our own families right now. I’m not here to add to the burden. But if you find value in having a trusted, local, independent source of news in your community, my staff and I would be ever thankful for your support.

You may now make tax-deductible contributions to the Henrico Citizen through our partnership with the Local Media Association. Learn more and make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen here.

If the tax-deductible element isn’t important to you, you may still donate directly to us here. One-hundred percent of your contribution will be used for our local journalism efforts.

Thank you for your readership and support.

All the best,