YOUR COMMENTS

I hope that someone else can come in and take over the operations, and keep a company that has been around as long as this news paper. It would be sad to see another piece of New Hampshires history just disapear.
- Mike, Newport

I, too, carried that canvas Eagle bag throughout my Laurel Street neighborhood during the 1970's and it is a shame to see the demise of the Argus and the Eagle. I understand the feelings of betrayl that the employees feel; I have also worked for a business that gave us our paycheck with a note that this would be the last day of business. I can only assume Mr. Hill examined all the possibilities for survival - employee ownership may have been an option. I'm sure that we all understand the basic concepts of capitalism and the state of the national economy may have effected this newspaper, as well as the local economy. When the economic tide turns, perhaps another local paper will emerge. Until then, I guess I will have to follow the Union Leader to know what is going on in my home town.
- Dan Murchie, Salt Lake City, Utah

I'm saddened to hear about the demise of the Eagle-Times. I, too, spent my formative years in journalism there, working under the wonderful Poody Walsh in Sports in the early 1990s. There were many talented reporters who cut their teeth at the Eagle-Times before going on to bigger things. Unfortunately, newspapers are in a tailspin and few papers are safe. This same scenario will play out more and more frequently over the next few years. I just hope all the employees are able to quickly land on their feet.
- Doug H, Worcester MA

What saddens me the most is the kids. Having school aged children in Claremont schools, they were thrilled to get their picture in the paper or to see the Eagle Times reporters covering an event that they are in. Now they will miss all of that. It's just sad all the way around and I hope that someone comes in to revive the Eagle Times or to start something new!
- Aly, Claremont, NH

... back in the fall of '74 I was part of the team that merged the Claremont 'Daily Eagle' with the Springfeild 'Times Reporter' to form the original Eagle Times. ... We subsequently launched a brand new Sunday paper (I still have the 1st edition tucked away as a keepsake) ... My career path took me from THERE - (and with a couple of stops along the way) - eventually to USA Today ... where I spent 17 years as a Regional Circulation Manager. ... I was truly saddened to hear and read of the papers closing ...
- Bob Alcorn, Nashua

I was born in Claremont almost 60 years ago, in the hospital, high on a hill overlooking Mount Sunapee in the distance. I don't remember the view, but I know it was there because I returned there several years later when my mother was having a visit, and she told me she was in the same room where I was born. Mt. Sunapee is still there. So is Claremont. The Toy Castle has come and gone. So have the mills, and now, the Eagle-Times. My family still lives in the area. I have never lived there, but have moved all over the world. I enjoy the smell of the air whenever I return to the area. I always go outside in the evening to brush my teeth while looking at the stars. Good people. Good corner of a good state. Live free or die. Support your local businesses and your local economy. Work together. Condolences and best wishes, from an old friend with deep family roots in the area.
- Jim, Cairo, Egypt

Hello. YourClaremontPress.com is down while we move it to another server. It should be online in about 24 hours. In the meantime you can view the website at YourClaremontPress.NET. Thank you.
- Nancy Brown, Fredericksburg, VA

Claremont and surrounding areas will now have an online daily local news website called www.YourClaremontPress.com and it will be launched this evening. I grew up in Claremont and worked for the Eagle Times when it was called the Daily Eagle.
- Nancy Brown, Fredericksburg, VA

Randy Y. give me a call.
- Jamie Collins, Palmer, Ma

Dan for the most part your right! It takes everyone in the community to make it a community. I just opened a business here in Claremont and wanted to give the Eagle Times my business as it was the paper I grew up on, plus the one that covered this area! I ran a 4 week, paid up front ad, that cost over $500.00. After dealing with the Sales Rep, I could no longer deal with the unprofessionlism. Not returning calls, not asking for approval before they ran it ,not returning my calls again! after it was ran for first 2 weeks, with out being able to correct the misprints. I did speek to the Manager and asked for a new rep - He told me that the Rep. was the only one for my location I chose not to advertise until they replaced ithe rep with someone that was more eager for my business. I guess this means I chose to do the right thing They needed to keep track of their customers more. Doing follow ups instead of ignoring their customers might of helped them!
- -VL, Claremont

When I was 12, my first job was delivering the Eagle Times on my bike in the Bluff area with a big canvas bag slung over my shoulder. My family and I were loyal readers even when we moved away. An era has ended, and Claremont is a lonelier place without the Eagle and all the local news and milestones it reported.
- Carrie, Rye, NH

Hi to all,

I am considering the possibility of launching a small weekly newspaper in Claremont. I would appreciate any feedback on whether such a project would be welcomed in light of the local news vacuum created by the depature of the Times and Argus-Champion. I was a former editor for both publications back in the mid-1990s and would consider it a great reward to be able to keep local news coverage alive in the greater Claremont area.
- Allan Stein, Quincy, MA

120 staff is their problem right there. That's a giant staff for a paper with a circulation of only 8,000, twice the size necessary easily. They could have managed with a staff considerably smaller--others have.
- Matt, Littleton

I started my career in journalism at the Eagle-Times more than 2 decades ago. The Eagle-Times was a community paper that truly mattered to the people of Claremont and Springfield, Vermont and the smaller towns around. I am sad to hear the news of its closing. A healthy democracy truly needs community newspapers with journalists that ask the hard questions, and cover the triumphs of communities as well as its tragedy. This is one of the tragedies for Claremont and democracy.
- Monica Allen, Silver Spring, Maryland

Randy Y., it was a pleasure to work under you as your lead press operator, I couldn't agree you more bud. And yes, to this day under the rite circumstances a small community news paper can survive in these harsh times. I also want to thank the most dedicated crew a supervisor could ask for, you know who you are . I also would like to thank the people I worked with in the past 14 years, it was a pleasure and it wouldn't have been possible with out you. Thank You and good like to you all. Carl
- Carleton fleming Jr, Charelstown NH

I'm a former reporter for the Argus-Champion and during the short time there I quickly learned how much the Argus-Champion and the Eagle Times meant to the people that read it.

Newport and the towns surrounding it are a vital part of New Hampshire and now a huge part of their voice has been silenced.

To all my former coworkers, my best wishes are with you, and to Mr. Hill, shame on you.
- Carl Keyser, New Milford CT

I was the Operations Director for the Eagle Times and I feel in many ways betrayed by what happen. I can't blame Mr. Hill completely for what happened but it could have happened differently. We were making changes and I believe with the right leadership we could have survived the economic times and moved forward...a lot of mistakes were made. To be dumped on the street the way we were, pitiful. These were good publications and I do hope someone comes along and puts them in order. Certainly if I had the funds I would give it a go myself.
I personally want to apologize to all of you who read our publications, your publications. I want to apologize to all our advertisers. I want to apologize for all those who have lost money through subscription payments and unadvertised specials that never made it to print. Most of all I want to apologize to all those who worked under my supervision, I thought for sure we would make it. I know how hard it is going to be for me personally to get past this without destroying my credit but most my concerns, thoughts and prayers go out to those I had the privilege to work with.

Randy

P.S. If anyone is looking for a help!
- Randy Yanick, Springfield, VT

I was the Operations Director for the Eagle Times and I feel in many ways betrayed by what happen. I can't blame Mr. Hill completely for what happened but it could have happened differently. We were making changes and I believe with the right leadership we could have survived the economic times and moved forward...a lot of mistakes were made. To be dumped on the street the way we were, pitiful. These were good publications and I do hope someone comes along and puts them in order. Certainly if I had the funds I would give it a go myself.
I personally want to apologize to all of you who read our publications, your publications. I want to apologize to all our advertisers. I want to apologize for all those who have lost money through subscription payments and unadvertised specials that never made it to print. Most of all I want to apologize to all those who worked under my supervision, I thought for sure we would make it. I know how hard it is going to be for me personally to get past this without destroying my credit but most my concerns, thoughts and prayers go out to those I had the privilege to work with.

Randy

P.S. If anyone is looking for a help!
- Randy Yanick, Springfield, VT

I too spent the 1st 22 years of my working life in the printing industry. from trade school 75 until 97 when I saw the writing on the wall. computers were replacing jobs, and now the industry. At lesat the owners of this paper are going to pay employess plus whats owed in vacations. I'm in NW Vermont and have seen medium to large sheetfed printers go under since 1989 when I moved here from the Manchester NH area. In fact out of the 14 larger shops, there are 5 left. In fact, one of the big magazine printers in Burlington (Lane Press ) is down to 3 days a week... i guess this is the negative of the idiotnet
- Jim, Jericho VT (Londodnderry NH)

To all of those who have written, "where are we going to get out news ?" Here's an answer....buy the Eagle Times at the public auction and start your own newspaper ! Gee that was easy !
- Alan, Alstead NH

It certainly appears that the publlisher has acted in extreme bad faith, if not illegally, in dealing with his employees in the last 24 hours. I'm sure he did not just discover yesterday he had financial problems. If the NH layoff warning law does not apply here, the law isn't worth the paper it's printed on. The whole idea should be to prevent people from being thrown out on the street when the employer has been making HIS plans for months.
- JoeJ, Concord

Yeah, Mike from Cornish... the web is great for "investigative journalism". On the web nobody even tries to research facts on their blogs. As more and more newspapers go under we'll get more and more truthiness and less and less truth. Seems that is just fine for a lot of folks. Sad.
- Steve B, Derry

It's too bad the employees couldn't have been notified of this a long time before they did. It's bad enough they lost their jobs but to lose them all of a sudden must be a shock.
- Joseph, Kingston IN

Well, I guess I can clear THAT bookmark from my computer.
- RC, Claremont

I've spent most of my career in the commercial printing industry. Sadly, this type of closure is all too common in our industry.

My first company, Lighthouse Press in Manchester went under in 2001 after several failed attempts to keep the revenue stream flowing. The assets were eventually purchased by the publishers of Car Advantage Magazine and used to keep that line of publications printing every week. That group is no longer in business and the company that purchased them in 2005 are also no longer operating in NH. The large commercial printer I managed down in the Springfield, MA area went out of business in 2005 after 85 years of operation due to economic hardships. The local newspaper I ran a press for years ago in rural Tennessee? Closed in 2006.

Those are just the ones that affected me, personally. The list of closed printing companies in NH and the greater Boston Area over the past ten years is truly staggering. The common factor among the majority of them? Loss of revenue from advertising sales. Not directly, since most printers don't have their own publication that they produce, but indirectly; client publishers lose advertising sales which reduces the page counts of their titles and ultimately the run count. Eventually, the title goes under. When enough of a printer's client base is no longer in business, it becomes difficult to remain a viable entity in the market.

Concurrently with the loss of revenue, the cost of paper has skyrocketed in recent years, ink prices have gone through the roof as a result of the surge in oil prices last year (ink is a petroleum product unless you're using pure soy-based ink) and all other consumables have risen in price, as well. Add to that the costs of providing healthcare and other employee-related expenses and...well, you do the math.

To Donna and Gayle: You'll probably never appreciate the expense of running a newspaper nor the sacrifice of personal finances people like Mr Hill have made to try and keep these operations running. It truly has become an online, instant-gratification world in all respects and Tom is right - the end of the printed word for journalistic purposes is not far off. How truly sad.
- JJ, Manchester, NH

Dan in Nashua said it best - it is the community that lets the local newspaper become obsolete. When a local news organization fails people come forward and talk about how sad it is that the smaller communities in this country are not being represented - yet, these news organizations are NOT non-profits - they publish at great expence and need the support of local advertising and subscriptions to cover the cost. The bigger advertisers - automotive dealers and Real Estate are abandoning local advertising in favor of the big guys like autotrader and realtor.com and leaving the local print & web businesses in the dust. As citizens we need to decide whether our local news & information has value to us and if it does start telling the local businesses where you expect them to advertise and start using the products for more than just reading when a car crash happens. We need to start investing in our communities BEFORE they become obsolete!
- Jennifer Rose, Keene

If you read newspapers and watch the news on WMUR and many of the cable news sites you'll see that tv simply reads the headlines from the news papers.
Read the original AP story about how the latest satellite has "unfurled" its solar panels. Now google that and see how many hundreds of news channels simply regurgitate this news using the exact same verbiage. The reality is that newspapers (in partnership with the AP) and the major tv networks research and report. These stories are then picked up my the msnbc's and CNN's and Fox news's of the internet and cable tv shows. They then commentate and bloviate till blue in the face. The same happens where local newspapers research and WMUR reads off the headlines. Not sure where the blame lies, could be the newspapers need to copyright their stories but that doesn't seem legal. Could be the customers who have decided they'd rather here soundbites and listen to ranting. Maybe it's the googles and yahoos that simply pull other content without giving enough, if any compensation. I think we will all lose in the end as information consumers.
- Chip, Wilton

Truly sad news. I worked for the Eagle Times for six years in the late 80s and early 90s and moved to southern NH with my wife for other opportunities. I will never forget those days. There are many great people in and around Claremont and many with interesting and/or important stories. Hopefully, the Union Leader and other newspapers will continue to focus attention there. Of course, it won't be the same without the hometown perspective and feel that the Eagle Times provided. But perhaps some other entrepeneur will start a new media business. It will be interesting to follow what happens next. I guess the story isn't over yet ...
- Paul, Temple

As a former resident of Claremont for 26 years, it saddens me to hear about the loss of the local paper. The residents of Claremont cannot rely solely on the Valley News for their daily news, as it covers the Upper Valley, and rarely covers a Claremont story. I hope that someone will come in and save the Eagle, or start a new local paper.

Here in Asheville, in addition to a regular paper, we have multiple free publications, full of noteworthy stories, classifieds, etc. These papers are free to the public, and funded by adspace. They often cover the stories the big papers miss, and explore different sides to a story. Wouldn't it be nice, to see, along with all the new development in Claremont, a publication like this start up?

Keep moving forward, Claremont!
- Heather, Asheville, NC

Those who think that blogs and amateurs will be able to fill the gap left behind by newspapers are wrong. I (honestly) can understand why you may think that. But let me try to explain why you are wrong.

Print newspapers - in their prime - made a huge profit. That let them hire and maintain huge staffs. Profits for online newspapers are much lower, and profits usually don't exist for blogs. If a blog is turning a profit it's (1) rare and (2) a small profit.

So, point 1: Blogs and online newspapers can not afford large staffs. A small news gathering staff will be able to provide the same sort of news you'd get from a small radio station or TV outlet. You'll get the bloody wrecks, airplane crashes and stories about the couple that's been married 74 years. You will not get - on a routine basis - investigative reporting. It takes too long and a small staff will be busy just covering the basic news of the day.

Point 2: Well, then the investigative stuff will come from blogs? It sure can. But it sure isn't the rule, it's the exception. Then, there's another problem. Blogs are - almost by definition - subjective, not objective. While some will say that newspapers fail at being objective at least that's the goal. A blog is usually opinated (a fine thing, no problem for a blog). But you're unlikely to get both sides of the story - instead you'll get the blogger's side of the story.

Point 3: I realize that most people think that they could be a reporter. However, it's a craft that is learned both through education and (mostly) experience. The same folks who think they have the skills to be a reporter probably would shy away from trying to fly an airplane or perform brain surgery. But they think they can report. Most can not.

Unfortunately I think a lot of you are correct when you think that newspapers are going away. And I agree that they share some of the blame - a big hunk of it. But with all their faults, they've provided something you won't find from an online news site (even if it's run by a newspaper) or a blog. If print and the profits it brought go away, even sites maintained by newspapers will be short staffed (heck they already are).
- Bill H, Atlanta, GA

Yet less than a week ago this paper had no problem cashing my check for $70 for the next 6 months home delivery service. My current subscription had not even run out yet so I got exactly nothing for my money. My $70 means nothing compared to 120 people out of work without notice, but it demonstrates the classless way this was handled by the Hill's. Of course, he has his money safely tucked in the bank. Glad I could help pay off your creditors for you!
- Marc Colety, Claremont, NH

Newspapers - going the way of the Model -T. A new paradigm is before us brought on in part by the newspapers themselves. When do you ever read hard hitting investigative reporting in the daily rag? Never! However on the internet there are plenty of websites, blogs etc that are doing just that. Instead of acting as shills for the Establishment - these writers and novice journalists are exposing the wretched crimes in high places. Sorry but the end of the daily newspaper is near and they have only themselves to blame
- mike, cornish

Last July Harvey Hill closed the Argus Champion a local paper for the Newport Area for over 185 years. We are still feeling the void from the loss of the paper.

Now the Eagle is closed. Where are we going to get our local news?

Local Papers are suppose to be the ones that flourish.

Mr. Hill took the Argus and Eagle to their downfall. I worked for both papers.

The Argus originally a Newport paper, was extended to cover Henniker news. People want local news.

The Eagle went from being Claremont/Newport paper to covering Bellow's falls, Springfield Vermont.

Harvey HIll tried to make his paper's every town's home paper and he failed. He also started the Connecticut Valley Spectator, and bought the Weekly Flea, and the Messagner... to edge out the competition.

Too many papers and not enough news.

Now we are without any local paper in the Claremont/Newport Area..

Where are we going to get our news? The communities are not all internet savy..

Thanks for nothing Mr. HIll
- Gayle Hedrington, Croydon NH

Newspapers are the 8-track tapes of media, time to move on. The "carbon footprint" of the newspaper industry is huge, paper, trucking, waste, etc.
Most newspapers, at least on the editorial page, lean toward the loony left, I'd think they would close volutarily, in keeping with their green world views.
- Tom, Claremont

Wow we have a rapid response team on the state payroll to investigate companies that are going out of business in a bad economy? Call me silly but I thought our leaders claimed they made all the cuts they could before they attacked our schools, police and fire departments.

So let's say you owned this news paper and told your employee's you were closing in 60 days. At that point any of us would be trying to find a new job and if we found a job we would not give the news paper 60 days notice. We would simply go to our new job and leave them struggling to hang on. If enough people left the paper would not be able to function and would most likely close sooner than 60 days.

Are we also paying another rapid response team to investigate employees who leave companies early? Sorry but people need to think about what it would be like if they owned a failing company that still had bills to pay. Life is always a two way street. Workers rights are fine but rights need to work both for the employee and the employer. When they don’t jobs could end up going to other countries. Oh wait most already have.
- Deb, Derry

What about subscribers & advertisers who have paid in advance for X weeks of service? I haven't seen anything yet about refunds.
- Moose Meadow Farm, Claremont

Why Donna, does the guy who has been digging into his own pockets to pay for this local rag have to "face the music"? It sounds to me like he has been facing the music all along, and it's you and the employees and readers who are just joining the party now.

I have the explanation you demand. You and the people of the communities that these papers served didn't do your part to keep the paper going. You didn't advertise in it, you didn't use the small businesses that did advertise in it and the only time you really read it was when nothing else was within reach of the toilet.
- dan, Nashua

Another peice of the fabric of our quilt is gone perhaps its the economy or perhaps its the fact that people are living in a light speed world at their fingertips where they can peruse news at an instant on a computer screen. Sites like CNN, FOX, MSNBC are transforming how we get news. Newspapers are losing their appeal and that is a true travesty. For me still the newspaper is a much needed necessity of life. I feel sorry for the 120+ people that have their jobs eliminated permanently. GOD help us all out of this mess we call life.
- Jack Alex, Manchester

Goodbye Eagle-Times.
- Jim D, Hillsboro

How are people supposed to keep informed? Not everyone has, or knows how to use the internet. Local news is not exactly a hot topic on the net!
Also Channel nine reports that Harvey Hill let his employees know they were losing there job in an email, come on man, show some courage and face the music.You owe your employees and your readers an explanation!
- Donna Colby, Newport