The Free Lance, our local community paper, is becoming a
regional publication. This is not what we were promised by the new
owners of this newspaper group.
Editor,
The Free Lance, our local community paper, is becoming a regional publication. This is not what we were promised by the new owners of this newspaper group.
First we were told that shopping locally included Gilroy and Morgan Hill, though we are three separate communities each with our own identities, needs and histories. We are autonomous with our own governments and we aren’t even in the same county as Morgan Hill and Gilroy! Now, we are being told that public information, that is, obituaries, will only be published if we pay to advertise people’s deaths!
The Free Lance is not the San Jose Mercury News, which is not a community paper. There is a regional newspaper! The people who built this community, who went to school here, who have lived and worked here, need to know who has passed away, so that they may share in the sorrow of their friends and those they have known over the years, The community grieves for their own! If you must make money from the tragedy of others, then at least have an obituary column with the names of the deceased along with their dates of birth and death and the funeral date, so we may pay our respects.
There are those who cannot afford an ad or who do not wish to have an advertisement of death. There needs to be a way for everyone in our community to know, not just those who can afford the privilege. Though I agree that it is a very comforting way to have community members share their grief, we must include the whole community. Please consider this request for this community and, this county.
Ruth Erickson, Hollister
Editor’s note: Death notices, a brief announcement of a person’s passing and times for services, are available free of charge in the Free Lance.
