End of the Newspaper Era in Eldersburg

Last Sunday, the CBS Sunday Morning show had a segment about the end of the newspaper publishing era as we know it, much of it due to the explosion of Internet use. It explained the dynamics of the failing newspaper industry including use of alternative media, large drops in advertsing, and overall decline.

A few years ago, Eldersburg was served with three weekly papers all serving up their special slant of the same news, with folks asking "Does Eldersburg really need three papers?" Well, in the past year, it seems the answer has come:

• The Gazette, which was delivered weekly and owned by the Washington post, stopped delivery August 2008
• The Advocate of Eldersburg, which was delivered into all mailboxes in 21784 via mail, has been cut back to delievery to driveways, with delievery being spotty at best
• The Eldersburg Eagle, long considered Eldersburg's leading newspaper, has followed suit with the Advocate and has ceased mailbox delivery, being delivered only to driveways. Delivery to condos and apartments has been almost nonexistent, and driveway delivery hit or miss. The Eagle also recently stopped delivering its Westminster print edition.

Well, the good news is that there are still plenty of news sources for Eldersburg, mostly online. But the industry decline has indeed played out in Eldersburg as well. Let's hope that the Eagle doesn't disappear completely.