Help Keep Local Small Town News Alive

The Upper Rogue Independent has been bringing local news to the Upper Rogue Valley since 1976 and we need your help to continue to do so.

As our news feeds and social media feeds fill daily with the "death" of another print news outlet, and/or massive layoffs/buyouts the Upper Rouge Independent is proud we've survived this far as the sole independently owned source of local news for our small rural to suburban area.

The void left if we cannot continue to publish, will be felt, and no one will want to fill it.

Backstory: When Christy Solo (nee Plotkin) and Wayne Lee took over the Independent in Feb. 2021 it came with $23,000 in debt to the company who prints the paper and the former owner of the paper; most of which we weren't made aware of until after the fact.

We've worked very hard to chip away at the debt, including: Moving our office to the Eagle Point Senior Center (eliminating rent & utilities) and parring our staff down from four contract reporters and an owner/editor to Christy and Wayne wearing All the Hats.

Wayne and Christy work on a salary, which they have not increased since 2018.

Additionally, we strive to bring our loyal subscribers the types of local news and sports stories and articles they need and enjoy to maintain subscriber numbers.

However, no amount of scrimping and saving on our part can make up for advertisers lost during the initial COVID-19 lock down.

We are extremely grateful to those few advertisers who did return, but every month we feel the strain of those who did not.

Additionally fees we need to pay such as postal fees (mailing and our PO Box) and printing fees have increased substantially over the past three years.

We have been advertising for a part-time ad salesperson for two years, with only a few applicants. We will continue to try and fill that position.

We set our goal at $7,000 - which is not enough to pay off our remaining debt of $10,500 - but is enough to pay down the debt a bit and give us a financial cushion so we can make our monthly payments during leaner months.

Our monthly income varies greatly depending on how many "extra" Public Notices, print ads, etc. are purchased.

Some months there just isn't enough in the piggy bank to pay our printing fees, other bills and the extra $500 toward our debt. Like so many people out there, we run the paper "paycheck to paycheck."

Here is your chance to make a big difference for small towns and small town independent journalism.

Please donate any amount you can today.

Thank you,

Christy Solo & Wayne Lee - Upper Rogue Independent