I read tons of news industry information—data, trends, articles—so recently came across a story that stated that lots of people still like to read print newspapers.
My reaction: I could’ve told them that!
This particular article breathlessly related how nine community members in suburban Indianapolis, fed up with the area’s chain-owned “ghost newspapers,” teamed up to launch their own old-fashioned, subscription-based print paper.
Two years in and, at least according to the story, their back-to-the-future news experiment has proven a success (“Stop the Press? Does Print Have More of a Future in Media Than We Think?” Local News Initiative, Northwestern/Medill, Aug. 4, 2025).
Well, TheBurg is 17 years old, and our print product is more popular than ever. We print as many copies as we can afford to publish and distribute, but demand always outstrips supply. Each month, we run out quickly, especially at our most popular locations. [Note to Wegman’s shoppers—believe it or not, we restock there every week, but you scoop up Burgs as fast as we can stack them.]
This is not to diminish our online news product, which is also popular. We publish most breaking news only online, so please bookmark and visit our website on a regular basis to enjoy everything we offer.
In other words, we have a hybrid model, which combines our award-winning print magazine with our online daily reporting. Every news outlet must make its own decision on how best to run its business (print vs. digital, free vs. paid, etc.), and we find that this model works for us.
With that, welcome to our latest issue of TheBurg. We pride ourselves on coverage of the local arts scene 12 months a year, but, each September, the arts truly take over our monthly magazine. This month, you’ll find stories on theater, music, visual arts, the written word and more—always all original and all local.
On a parting note, I’d like to circle back to that Indianapolis start-up, which, importantly, is run by community members. Indeed, we believe a key to our success is local ownership, as our partners all live in the Harrisburg area and, in fact, work for TheBurg. That’s an intangible that no chain newspaper could ever replicate.
Lawrance Binda
Publisher/Editor
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
