I just finished thumbing through the most recent copy of Hometown Oneonta & The Otsego-Delaware Dispatch. According to a full page ad and an editorial, this is to be the last freely available copy I will receive, as the publication is shifting to a paid subscription model.

Published by Cooperstown based Iron String Press, Hometown Oneonta first appeared in September of 2008 under the guidance of publishers MJ and Jim Kelvin. In the 17 since Hometown Oneonta was launched, 7,956,000 free papers have been delivered to 9,000 homes and businesses in the Town and City of Oneonta according to the publication. Iron String Press bills itself as: "the sole remaining independent and locally owned newspaper publishing enterprise in Otsego County."

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In 2020, Iron String Press conducted a "Consumer Preference Attitude Survey" with contracted partners Susquehanna Polling and Research Inc. The survey showed high satisfaction rates with Hometown Oneonta, and close to 80% of those polled claimed that they would likely pay to subscribe to the newspaper should it go in that direction.

While the possibility of a subscription model has been on the table since the survey was conducted in 2020, Iron String Press felt that now was the right time for the change citing rising printing, paper, publishing, and postage costs.

These changes are not unique to local media. For years, publications big and small across the country have struggled with staying afloat amid changes in the world of journalism due to the rise of social media and the 24 hour news cycle.

Iron String Press assures the public that Hometown Oneonta will continue to exist, and are simply moving to a new way of doing business due to the aforementioned rise in costs of operating a newspaper.

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