Press Clippings: Late newspaper deliveries frustrating for us as well

In August 2022 I was appointed the publisher of a group of three community newspapers, collectively known in Forum Communications Co. as the "Lakes Group." I hadn't been a full-time publisher in a number of years, but I saw an opportunity to return to working in the community newspaper space. And while the gig only lasted 10 months before an eventual company restructuring, it was one of the most rewarding professional stints I've ever had. Hats off the the staffs at the Detroit Lakes Tribune, Perham Focus and Wadena Pioneer Journal for welcoming this old newspaper hack for a great run!

Nov. 24, 2022

By Devlyn Brooks

Because much of the work that our staff does – both the newsroom and sales team – hangs out there for the entire public to see, I am empathetic to the troubles the local Detroit Lakes post office is experiencing.

In a story we published in the Nov. 23 edition of the Detroit Lakes Tribune we wrote about the increase in local residents’ complaints about spotty or inconsistent mail delivery in recent months. Some residents and businesses are saying they’ve gone three or more days without mail delivery.

I’m not here to pile on. This column isn’t about hanging out someone else’s dirty laundry, so to speak. After all, our story stands on its own merits. And you can see in the reporting the post office’s official response.

But I am here to add my 2 cents as publisher of community newspapers that depend upon the postal service to reach our customers. All of our papers – the Tribune, the Perham Focus and the Wadena Pioneer Journal – are distributed through the mail.

Longtime subscribers to the Tribune will remember a day not long ago when carriers delivered the Tribune to their paper tubes or doorsteps. But in recent years we made a critical business decision to switch our paper delivery to mail to keep our newspaper vital. When we did so, though, we never could have anticipated a scenario in which our customers didn’t receive their papers for days, if at all.

Our staff fields numerous calls each week from subscribers who didn’t receive their paper. Our reporting team fields questions from people on the street or at public meetings about why the paper doesn’t get to their mailbox. And our sales team hears from advertisers who are dismayed over the late deliveries as well.

I don’t have the answers for the post office. And I don’t want to make a challenging workforce situation for them worse by throwing them under the bus. After all, they wouldn’t be the first business to suffer workforce shortages. I’m sure that we could write that same story for nearly every business sector in town.

But what I will say to our readers and advertisers is … we hear you! We understand your frustration over the newspaper not being delivered in a timely manner, or at all.

And while we may not be able to assist the post office with this challenge, we promise all of our readers that we will always provide you with a paper. If you don’t receive your newspaper on time, feel free to stop by the office, we’ll get you one. We want you to see the hard work that our newsroom and sales folks put into every edition. So please reach out if you need a paper!

Finally, it sounds promising that the post office has been able to recently hire more personnel. The postal service is an important part of commerce and personal connection in our community. So, from one local community institution to another, we wish you the best of luck!

Devlyn Brooks is the publisher of the Detroit Lakes Tribune, Perham Focus and Wadena Pioneer Journal, and their associated websites. He can be reached at dbrooks@dlnewspapers.com or at 218-844-1451.