The Demise of the Fitchburg Star

by Jay Allen

All good things must come to end, or so the saying goes.

After almost 35 years, the Fitchburg Star will be ceasing publication.  I will tell you that I have mixed feelings about this.

Henry Schroeder ran the paper well.  He was a local businessman, with local connections, and really cared about the local community.  Eventually, it was time for him to retire, and he sold the group, which included the Verona Free Press, the Oregon Observer, and the Stoughton Courier Hub to Woodward Communications, and Iowa-based company.  The Fitchburg office of the newspaper was closed, and all infrastructure was relocated to Oregon or Verona.  Eventually, the decision was made to severely limit distribution of the free newspaper, to the point that it became largely irrelevant.

Despite whatever acumen the owners of Woodward Communications claim to have, they refused to exercise it in their operation of the Fitchburg Star.  They operated it as a free newspaper, mailed to a minority of residential addresses in the City of Fitchburg.  For a company like mine, advertising became a waste.  They refused to invest in improving the newspaper, so it is really no surprise that it has become an economic liability.

The City will continue its efforts to make City information more accessible.  We are now live-streaming Council and Plan Commission meetings, and they are archived online.  We are looking at changes to our newsletter which will make more information available in a more timely manner.  We will be making changes to our website.

I am also making changes to this site.  In a few weeks, a discussion forum will be available, and I will be posting blog entries more often.

Times are changing, and newspapers are struggling all over the country.  The Fitchburg Star, being the latest victim of corporate mismanagement, will be soon forgotten, I'm sure.  But the City still goes on.  Please take advantage of the sources of information available to you, and watch for more.  There are many things happening, and you will want to know about them.

Goodbye Fitchburg Star.  Your demise is not a reflection on the City of Fitchburg, but a repudiation of the bad management of your owners.  The City goes on and will succeed where Woodward Communications proved to be an utter failure.