We combined news you’d normally read from our four weekly print newspapers into one regional edition this week. It’s one of several measures Charlotte Media Group has put in place to stay afloat as we navigate waters disrupted by COVID-19.
Local, state and federal officials have urged people to stay at home and avoid large groups of people. Such restrictions have led many companies to temporarily close their doors or let go of staff.
Considering our business model relies on advertising, we also have had to make difficult decisions, such as adjusting distribution and letting go of people we enjoy working with.
Hopefully, these measures are temporary.
If you have visited our websites in recent days, then you may have noticed that every story we post now includes a link to a page in which readers can make a financial contribution (www.cmgweekly.com/donate). We realize budgets are tight and everyone is hurting. If you have a little flexibility in your budget and consume the content we put in print, online and across social media, then we appreciate any contribution you give. Regardless, we’ll keep working.
We intend to provide updates on how our region is responding to COVID-19, as well as share stories of other things happening in our community. After all, I am hearing growing sentiment of coronavirus coverage fatigue.
Our staff takes pride in providing online news without a paywall and distributing free copies of our newspapers directly to homes and retail racks in several communities. We will continue to do this as long as we can.
I hope the hunkering down we’re doing is short-lived and that we emerge from this public health crisis a much stronger community.