OK, I get it. Some readers are upset about the loss of their Sunday and Monday editions. I’m upset, too. As I told a reader Thursday, losing two editions is tough, but it’s better than no newspaper at all.

Unfortunately, we are living in a Big Tech world. That’s Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Apple, and more social media platforms than you can count. They are using news content produced by newspapers and taking it free of charge while grabbing up 70 percent of the advertising of which newspapers used to get a fair share.

National Review, which describes itself as America’s premier destination for conservative analysis, in March of 2021 said, “One way Facebook and Google have attained their outsized influence is by cannibalizing the news media. Reader interest in news generates a lot of their revenue, but they don’t produce news content. They get it from news publishers who fund expensive newsrooms but receive little from the tech giants in return.”

I have tried on many occasions to read a story from other newspapers but had to subscribe to get the full story. However, I was able to Google the title and most of the time got the story on Yahoo.

U.S. newspaper circulation has dropped by half since 2000. The majority of news deserts — where there is no regular newspaper — are in the nation’s rural areas. No one is holding their elected and appointed officials accountable.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., the daughter of a newspaperman, said she understands firsthand the vital role that a free press plays in strengthening democracy. However, she said local news is facing a crisis in this country.

“To preserve strong, independent journalism, we have to make sure news organizations are able to negotiate on a level playing field with the online platforms that have come to dominate news distribution and digital advertising,” Klobuchar said.

The senator is one of the authors of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) that would allow news publishers to secure fair terms from Big Tech giants that regularly access news content without paying for its value.

The act got out of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in late September with a 15-7 vote, but critics have slowed its progress.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., was the original sponsor of the JCPA. He said, “Local newspapers are the heart and soul of journalism, and they break the news that millions of Americans rely on every day. However, tech giants like Facebook and Google are hammering local publications by keeping them from making a profit on Big Tech platforms — and it’s killing local journalism.”

Lee Wolverton, vice president of news and executive editor of Herald-Dispatch Media, said it well: “Just as we need people to clean and police our streets, we need journalists to diligently cover our cities and state, to show us the rights and wrongs not of Washington, but of our hometowns and West Virginia. Who will do it if journalists do not? And if they do not, what becomes of this place?

“It isn’t just the future of this newspaper and others that’s at stake. It’s the future of our towns, our state, and our country.”

Despite the continuing plight of newspapers, getting help from Congress is extremely difficult. President Joe Biden has a proposal to give newspapers, radio, and television stations tax credits for journalists they hire.

U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., the new majority leader in the House, explained one of the reasons why help probably won’t be coming. Scalise called it a scam in a recent tweet, according to The Associated Press.

“Make no mistake — this is Biden and Dems in Congress helping pay the reporters’ salaries who cover for them,”  Scalise said.

So what do you do in the face of that kind of opposition? You come up with a survival plan, which the American Press is doing. I have over 62 years invested in this news organization, and I want it to still be publishing when my 4- and 2-year-old great-granddaughters are old enough to read a newspaper.

We hope our readers give us a break on this latest decision destined to keep us afloat in disturbing times for newspapers. Our printed and digital editions, our newsletter and our website will provide extensive news coverage. We want to continue being the trusted voice that has covered your local, area, state, national, and international news for 127 years.