The Hard Copy Jewish Newspaper & the Need for its Survival

Jews are surely the most literate people on the face of this earth. Our first consideration as parents is to give our kids a super education. No other people has as many “doctor” or “lawyer” jokes referring positively to them, as we do. Reading is the building block of our success throughout our history. So why are hard copy, black ink, held in your hands, Jewish newspapers going out of existence in our country? When our forefathers were immigrants to this land, and not literate in English, they produced dozens of Yiddish dailies for them to read, to learn about the new culture and to keep abreast of the news. The Morning Freiheit, The Forvets (The Forward), The Jewish American, The Morgen Journal, The Jewish Week, written in Yiddish or English were sold on news-stands throughout the city and gobbled up and held under swinging arms as people trudged to the subways to read on the way to work.

 

They have now mostly disappeared or gone into the electronic form. Perhaps the Chinese Virus pandemic was the final blow. The Forward and The Jewish Week, the latter kept alive by the Federation, was the latest to leave the printing press exclusively for online absorption. Readership for most newspapers has declined, resulting in a loss of advertising, the life’s blood of the newspaper industry. This was a crippling blow to the publishing industry. Our senior citizens are dying off and with them the concern for Jewish issues. The new generation, raised getting its information from the Boob-Tube and being “Americanized” in schools has little interest in page turning nor for Jewish issues.

 

Everything is done in a flash. They no longer have the same shared interests in Jewish life nor for its continuity as the older generations. A sign of the times. We, the modern day Jewish/Americans must keep the traditions of a Jewish press alive. Those sadly disappeared Jewish newspapers were the glue that kept Jewish society together. Recipes, human interest stories, tales from the old country continued and strengthened our traditions. This togetherness, this form of unity is rapidly disappearing.

 

The New York Jewish Voice stands out, together with both its weekly hard copy editions and its electronic web site as the outstanding source not only for news of and support for Israel but we inform our readers of American Jewish life and local city issues that concern us all. We have expenses that come close to erasing our income.

 

We kvell (rejoice) at each finished edition of the Jewish Voice as it is printed, bundled for distribution and hauled away on trucks to newsstands, synagogues, retail establishments and the post office to get into our avid readers’ hands and homes. We call on you to share your views of the JV with your friends and neighbors. We ask merchants and professionals to let us carry your messages to our readers through your advertising with us.

 

Share your family’s simchas and memorialize your loved ones on our pages. We don’t ask for handouts. We want to work with you for our survival as an ink on paper publication for many good years ahead. We want to continue to get our ink on your fingers and to fill you with Jewish news, stories, recipes, features and advertisements submitted by our supporters for many more happy, healthy years ahead.