Hello, lovely BG Independent News readers.
My name is elizabeth. I’m introducing myself because you don’t often hear from me or see my byline. (Our “The day the pizza died” story about Myles was a rare fun exception!) I’m the one who keeps things humming behind the scenes. I post the obituaries, manage the advertising, and handle all the finances so that Jan, Julie, Lindsay-Jo, Robin, Tom, Jules, and Andrew can focus on reporting and writing the stories that matter to Bowling Green and Wood County.
You may have noticed how many names I listed. While David Dupont does continue to contribute, his move to Maine last year required us to recruit many new writers so that we could keep publishing all our area’s vital stories at the same rate. Because of that, our “shoestring” budget has stretched to something more akin to dental floss.
Every time we post a plea for donations, it feels painful. We know with the increasing cost of gas and groceries, many families are hurting right now. That’s part of why we refuse to use a paywall, which would limit people’s access to local news and information; we will always publish obituaries free of charge as a service to our community’s grieving loved ones. We also want to keep our advertising rates affordable for small area businesses and organizations. So we rely on your generosity, and whenever we ask, you provide.
Today, each new PayPal notification has caused my heart to swell with gratitude and love for this community. My partner John, who maintains the BG Indy website, said that for him it calls to mind the song “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & the News. Later he joked on our group chat “We put the news back in Huey Lewis!” And while in the past we’ve never published a blanket thank you to our supporters, I feel compelled to do that now.
So thank you. Thank you so much for letting us know that what we do matters. Thank you for ensuring that I can write the checks every month that pay our writers for their labors of love. Thank you for advertising your events and businesses on our site. Every donation and every ad, no matter how small, positively impact our ability to continue reporting, writing, and publishing.
And thank you, as always, for reading.
Gratefully,
elizabeth roberts-zibbel
