Visitors to the online version of this newspaper have encountered a message at the bottom of most stories thanking readers for their time and encouraging them to subscribe. In part, it says, “Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family. Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.”
The Star is not alone in making this request. The Guardian online, a prominent English news outlet, was among the first platforms of major media to ask for a helping hand. The New York Times’s hit podcast “The Daily” features a short bit each episode urging listeners to do the same.
The old saw goes that newspapers write the first draft of history — and in some cases, such as stories this month about the area’s early free and enslaved black residents — parts of the past that have been passed over. But they also do much more.
Without local news, it would be impossible for any single person to keep track of a school board, police and fire stories, sports, or the arts, along with much more. In a news vacuum, governments might more easily be swayed by interests at odds with the public good. Stories about heroes and do-gooders and even ideas about what to do with a weekend would be no more. Local news organizations are at the heart of a healthy, vibrant community, and readers who support them with their subscription dollars are, too. We thank you.