Hardly a day goes by that we don't receive a letter or e-mail from someone who has discovered Lighthouse Digest from a friend, relative, library or by chance from one of our stories that has been posted on-line. Everyone one of these letters or e-mails state in one way or another how much these people love lighthouses and how much they admire what we are doing to save lighthouse history through historical stories and current lighthouse news. Many of these people want to order either just the current issue or a particular back issue, but only a small percentage of them will actually subscribe to the magazine, even though they claim to love lighthouses and admire what we are doing.

This is not something new; it is a trend that has been going on with niche magazines and nearly every newspaper in America.

In fact, the September/October issue of History, the History Channel Magazine in a story titled "EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA" a touching editorial by its editor reports and comments on the demise of the newspapers in America. A few weeks ago the reporting of the possible closure of Portland, Maine's only daily newspaper was reported on the national TV news, which also brought to light the serious trouble that the print media in America is experiencing. In fact, several newspapers and magazines that I once loved to read are no longer publishing and have disappeared from the American scene, which means we have lost great stories that will never be told, no, not even on the world wide web.

Although the Internet has brought people instant news and stories, it can never compare to the print versions of newspapers and magazines that have helped make our nation great. Once we lose the great newspapers and magazines, will books be the next to disappear? Research, paper, insurance and postage are just of few of the expenses that must be met to report and save yesterday's history and fund modern preservation projects for this generation as well as the next.

Only you can make a difference. I would encourage you to support your local newspaper by ordering a subscription. And naturally, if you love lighthouses, please support what we have been doing since 1992, by renewing your subscription or ordering a gift subscription for friends, relatives, libraries and especially for young adults, because they are the ones that hold our future.