As the new millennium brings ever-advancing communication technology, there has never been a better time for newspapers. And in particular, the Abilene Reporter-News.

Our company is the oldest continuous business in Abilene and we have prospered for 123 years by always staying focused on our primary mission - meeting the informational needs of the people who live here.

Abilenians and West Texans want to know what is going on in their area and how it affects them and their neighbors. They also want to know how news from outside our area, region, state and world impact them. And they want the information in a form and language they can understand.

There is no other medium that can accomplish this mission any better than the local newspaper.

The secret to success has been and continues to be knowing who our customers are and what they need from "their" daily newspaper.

The knowledge comes from not just being located here, but from having the newspaper managed, written, sold and distributed by people who are a part of the community. We have about 250 employees who work in our main facility and several hundred agents and contractors who work all over the Big Country.

It costs millions of dollars annually to publish your local daily newspaper. Some revenue comes from the small sum subscribers pay for the paper, but the majority of revenue comes from advertising. The Abilene Reporter-News publishes more advertising than any other local medium. According to our latest market study, almost 70 percent of the people in Taylor County say we are their primary source for advertising information.

The Abilene Reporter-News is among the top-read newspapers in the United States, ranking in the top 50 in penetration of the marketplace. Nearly three out of four people read the newspaper with past week readership at 77 percent in Taylor County.

The newspaper went through an ownership change in 1997. Scripps Howard purchased the Abilene Reporter-News from Harte-Hanks Communications. Scripps is one of the largest media companies in America.

The change has worked well for everyone.

There have been a number of significant challenges for the newspaper during the past decade. Although the city of Abilene has enjoyed modest population growth, many outlying areas have seen declines. This has caused rural newspaper circulation to drop some. However, penetration of city households has increased.

Abilene also has seen a loss of many locally owned businesses. The state comptroller reports have reflected fewer of these outlets over the past few years.

That has meant fewer inches of advertising in your daily newspaper. Despite this trend, the newspaper has not reduced the amount of news it prints. Editors have used well over 1 million column inches of news space for many years.

Although plentiful, the primary raw material used by newspapers is newsprint. Newsprint is delivered to Abilene in large trucks. Rolls weigh about one ton each. The newspaper uses over 4,000 tons a year. Almost all of the newsprint is recycled.

What is in the future?

Although we don't foresee the Internet replacing the newspaper, our electronic newspaper is becoming bigger every day. We were one of the first newspapers in Texas to have an electronic newspaper on the Internet. Last year, we had over 30 million "hits" - one measure of how people access a web site on the Internet. We anticipate the number could double in the very near future.

The newspaper Internet site is called, "ReporterNews.Com," and can be accessed by using the URL (address): http://www.reporternews.com/.

Research recently completed among people in the marketplace tells us the majority of the readers are satisfied with the newspaper. However, a growing number want changes, many citing finding time to read as a problem.

Our editors are responding by repackaging and redesigning the newspaper so it is easier and quicker to read. More local news is being placed on the front page. More photos are being used to help readers relate to the stories. And indexes and calendars are being used to help readers get quick summaries of what has happened and what is going to happen.

We installed more than $1 million in capital equipment during 1998. Included were smaller presses for direct marketing applications, packaging and distribution equipment to speed and enhance deliveries and a new computer system in classified advertising. In 1999, we added a new computer system in our news operations to help editors and reporters spend less time processing news and more time covering and reporting news.

After that, we converted the newspaper to a narrower page. A few metropolitan newspapers already have done this and reaction from readers has been very favorable. The new design and size have made the newspaper easier to read and handle.

The newspaper is a business that is solely dependent on the local economy. If the community is doing well, the newspaper can do well.

Classified ads have long been a barometer of the national economy. For instance, if employment ads are plentiful, it generally means people have jobs and employers are looking to grow. In our case, the volume of employment advertising we have been publishing has never been higher. Abilene has practically no "real" unemployment, with levels down to 3.5 percent over the last year.

Many of our employees are actively involved in the community, working to improve the quality of life, developing new business and industry, supporting charitable and civic projects and participating in everything from Little League to community strategic plans.

The Abilene Reporter-News plans to be an integral part of Abilene and West Texas for another century of growth and opportunity.

George Cogswell

Publisher