- January 28, 2026
Dear Editor:
I have appreciated the growth of the Palm Coast Observer since landing here in 2021. The physical size of this newspaper (broader sheets, more pages and sections) coupled with a larger writing staff have been reflective of the tremendous growth of the city these past five years.
When one considers print media has been in a death spiral for the past two decades, one should stop and consider why the Observer is an anomaly. Our hometown paper’s focus is almost exclusively local coverage and tends to shy away from shared news content so prevalent of other corporate-owned newspapers (such as Gannett, McClatchy, etc.) that have “streamlined” operations by creating newspapers that are monotonous shells of their former selves.
Consolidation of newspapers often includes gutting newsrooms, eliminating investigations and original storytelling, and taking the local voice out of one’s hometown news. Since 2005, more than 3,000 newspapers have been shuttered across the United States. I hope readers of the Observer appreciate the detailed coverage of local news from local writers.
In today’s hyper-partisan media environment, it is rare for even medium-to-large cities to have one newspaper that prints daily or semi-daily; a reality for smaller cities is many are no longer served by any local news. Gone are the days where there might be competition between two daily newspapers, regardless of how large the media market might be.
To the Observer staff, keep up the good local reporting, stick to the facts, and please resist any future temptation to bring the cable news or social media sensationalism into it.
Casey C. Cheap
Palm Coast
