We’d be remiss to close the books on 2020 without extending heartfelt appreciation to you – our readers and advertisers – for your loyalty and support during a year that was as challenging to our business as any in more than a century of continuous publication.

COVID-19’s disruption of small businesses – whose advertising dollars account for well over half of our newspaper’s operating revenue – was particularly untimely for a print-centric business model that is still finding its way forward in a digital world.

We’re blessed that many of our advertisers continued to market their businesses and organizations throughout the pandemic and recognized the value of a marketing partner that reaches 3 out of 4 Isle of Wight adults each week in print or online.

Those strong audience numbers are a tribute to our team of talented journalists and to our loyal readers, who have many choices these days on where and how they consume news and information.

Perhaps a silver lining of restrictions on people’s freedom of movement during the various stages of shutdown was a growing appreciation for our digital offerings, which soared in popularity during 2020 as people stayed at home and had more time to spend reading local news.

Watching our longtime print readers get comfortable with news on their computers, tablets and smartphones has been rewarding, as we publish in an information marketplace that will continue to trend digital.

Thanks to the loyalty of our readers and advertisers, a staff that worked long, hard and sacrificially and some timely help from the federal government with the Paycheck Protection Program, The Smithfield Times closes out 2020 still standing tall and optimistic about the future.

We wish our community a healthy and prosperous 2021.