Frequency change brings new approach to The News

We're turning the page on another chapter of local journalism this week.

As most of you already know from my column a few weeks ago, The Eastern New Mexico News is transitioning to a twice-weekly frequency. Our next edition after today will be Wednesday, Oct. 3.

Newspapers nationwide are changing — have been for years. The News is no different. It's not doom and gloom for us, though. No need to send in sympathy cards. We'll show you that right out of the gate with Wednesday's paper.

We have a package of stories planned about the New Mexico Racing Commission's upcoming visit to Clovis and the debate on whether the proposed racino is a positive or a negative for this locale. The papers will be beefier as well, checking in at 32 pages or more and four sections with each edition. Plus, we're bringing a variety of new items to our pages — but more on that in a minute.

Our news coverage is moving to an all-local approach, and that's what makes community newspapers successful. We'll be passing on the national and world news that so many people are getting already through alternative methods to give you stories you won't find anywhere else.

With the move to two days per week, our staff can dive more in depth on the issues that are important to eastern New Mexico. Our editor, David Stevens, will have a regular column and provide his voice on community issues and serve as a watchdog of our city and county entities.

We're also going to have more local faces from our community in the paper, both in feature and sports photos. They'll be ways for readers to interact with the paper and send us their "news." That will be just a small part of "Intermission," one of the new sections to each paper.

Intermission will include Betty Williamson's and Karl Terry's columns, crossword puzzles, CryptoQuote/Cryptoquip, Sudoku, horoscopes (yes, they're coming back) and a variety of other new puzzles, recipes and features.

Each week, Wednesday's paper will include our religious-themed pages. We've added Bible trivia and a Bible word search that day as well. Also that day, we'll feature our education and business features.

Also on Wednesdays, you'll find a new kids-themed page with additional content appropriate to the younger folks in households.

Next Sunday, a new comic, "Macanudo," will debut. The cartoonist, Liniers, started in Argentina and became South America's most celebrated cartoonist. He has nearly 1 million followers on Facebook and 760,000 on Twitter.

Our television pages won't disappear either — a fear of many readers who called or wrote me. On Wednesdays, we'll include the TV listings for Thursday-Sunday. Then on Sundays, you'll get the schedules for Monday-Wednesday.

A new era dawns on Wednesday. Give it a chance; I'm confident you'll enjoy it.

Rob Langrell is the publisher of The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at: [email protected]