Traf News in recess

Traf News has been temporarily suspended due to a lack of advertising revenue and stretched volunteer time.

The community-run paper has been operating since October 1999 and close to 3000 copies are distributed throughout Trafalgar each month.

Traf News president John Freyne made the announcement on the publication’s website, where he explained the difficulties the publication had been experiencing.

“As we navigate through these challenging times, we have experienced some operational and financial difficulties over the past six months.

“Despite successfully adapting to the pandemic, we have faced a reduction in advertising revenue which has greatly impacted the paper’s viability. Additionally, a few volunteers have had to step away for personal reasons.

The decision to put the publication in recess was made at a management committee and editorial team meeting a couple of weeks ago.

Mr Freyne said those involved would “continue to work diligently” to get the publication up and running again in the near future.

Currently, members of the committee and editorial team are assessing avenues that will make the paper viable again, including altering distribution and publication frequency, Mr Freyne told The Gazette.

He said there have been a number of committee vacancies for some time, and although the small team behind the paper were passionate, it would be good to have community members involved.

Traf News has been in contact with local schools about contributions, Mr Freyne said, as it would be great to get “younger folk” involved.

“Even those in their 40s and 50s,” he said were welcome to get involved.

In recent years the Traf News team invested in “sprucing up” the website and refreshing the look of the paper, Mr Freyne said.

But despite the high number of website visits and loyal audience, the lack of advertising revenue has impacted production.

Mr Freyne said the decision to suspend the publication meant “no grand decisions” had been made, and there were still hopes publication would resume.

Former editor and founding committee member Mick Bourke said it was “disappointing” to see the suspension, but said difficulties with advertising were not surprising given the rise of social media.

“I have not talked to a lot of people, but those I have spoken to are disappointed,” he said, on the community’s reaction.

Mr Bourke said community newspapers like Traf News were an important source of history, and as editor, he always considered not only his current readership but those 50 years down the track.

It is also an important source of information for community members, he said.

“My hope is that it’s not the end of the paper.”