An Imperiled Newspaper's Threads in a Small City's Fabric

[Commentary] The Bristol Press has been covering Bristol since 1871. but may be shutting down soon. Last month the newspaper's financially troubled owner, the Journal Register Company, announced that The Bristol Press and a sister newspaper, The New Britain Herald, would cease to publish if not sold — cheaply, by the way — by mid-January. And it is true that even among the newsprint faithful, few weep for the Journal Register Company, brought down as much by its own bad business decisions as by declining advertising revenues. Often derided as a profit-mad, quality-journalism-be-damned company, it would begrudge the electrical cost of those holiday lights now faintly brightening the Bristol Press newsroom. But if this is the future, at least let us pause to appreciate what a small, imperfect daily newspaper means to this small, imperfect city, where the clocks and watches of America were once made, where General Motors once produced its ball bearings, where ESPN is based, and where springs — yes, unheralded yet essential customized springs — are produced.