A note from Publisher Janelle Von Pinnon
It’s with great humility, the Newsleaders is asking for help from our readership.
Now more than ever, we need to be the safe platform for people to speak the truth, an independent media outlet, which aims to reflect the identity of our communities.
For a better understanding of why we are asking for your help, let us give a brief description of how the Newsleaders works.
Every first and third Friday of the month you find the newspaper in your mailbox, no charge to you, so you can enjoy award-winning, relevant local content. You can read the digital version of the papers on our website and enjoy fresh digital content every day. That endeavor takes a lot of talent, work and of course, money.
A huge chunk of our revenue pays for postage and printing costs, which just keep increasing.
Here is where advertising plays an important role, because this is where our revenue comes from.
As certified annually by the an independent auditing report, in 2024 the Newsleaders reached 100 percent of the households in Sartell, St. Stephen and St Joseph. Eight of 10 people in our area read the paper. Through advertising, businesses reach you as a potential customer. That is the beauty of advertising in the Newsleaders; 73 percent of our readership decides to buy products or services from businesses they’ve found advertised in the Newsleaders.
In summary, it is a win-win for all parties: local, high-quality, pertinent content for you as a reader, awareness and increased likelihood of profit for the advertisers and income for us as the paper to keep serving our community.
We profoundly appreciate all the loyal advertisers who have been doing business with us proving firsthand the effectiveness of the Newsleaders to help businesses grow and become more successful in our community.
However, in 2025 advertising support has decreased drastically. Although historically the first quarter of the year is always the toughest, this year is echoing the hardship we faced (as did many other businesses) during the 2020 Covid outbreak. Perhaps businesspeople are concerned about tight budgets and the uncertain future of our economy, and we totally empathize with them.
No matter the cause, the Newsleaders will not be able to sustain publishing in print much longer without advertising support.
Asking our readers for help is one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to do.
How can you help?
First, please encourage the businesses you patronize or work for/with to advertise with the Newsleaders. (If we could secure 100 businesses to commit to a minimum of $250/month of print and/or digital advertising, we would be out of the woods.)
Secondly, keep reading the Newsleaders in print and digital editions, and encourage others to enjoy them too. As you read the Newsleaders, take into consideration the events, products and/or services provided by our advertisers.
Third and more urgently, if you believe the Newsleaders has value in the content provided, please make a donation to show your appreciation. We’ve determined we need 1,000 readers to chip in a minimum of $25 or 500 readers to chip in a minimum of $50 in order for us to continue. Any amount, however small, would be greatly appreciated.
It has been my utmost pleasure to create and sustain the Newsleaders these past 35 years. We hope to continue with your help.
A Go Fund Me account is available at https://gofund.me/7c50a413.
Or you can mail a check to Newsleaders, 1622 11th Ave. SE, St. Cloud, MN 56304 Or call 320-363-7741 Option 4 to make a credit card donation.
