At Seacoast Foster's, a long day's journey into night

A few questions for Lebanon Voice readers to ponder as they sip their first cup of joe this morning.

If Foster's going to a free website a year or so ago was "a new dawn," then what is it called when they go to a "paid" website on Monday?

The struggling newspaper returned to a free website after losing thousands of readers when their "paid website" scheme failed miserably a couple of years ago, causing them to hemorrhage thousands of advertising dollars as well.

Then they spent tens of thousands of dollars in direct mailers when they went back to a free website. (Message to advertisers: Watch for their impressions rates per thousand to spike.)

I must have received a dozen such mailers at our Milton PO box. Actually I think by the time we stopped getting "A new dawn in journalism" postcards it was already midafternoon.

Now the shadows at the once venerable bastion of gothic type and bad gutters are getting even longer.

At least the few Rochester readers who like to read John Nolan's "barking dog, loud house party, drunk in the street" Rochester Police log got a couple of weeks' notice that they would be paying for what was a darned good fish wrap and fire starter. (Guess we'll have to find another fish wrap and fire starter.)

We guess the Seacoast Foster's folks didn't want to hear all the grumbling prior to Monday's "paid" event, especially after Rochester, Milton and Lebanon news from the former Foster's Daily Democrat has shrunk so much you'd think it had been in the pool too long.

The two "paid" events can mean only one thing. The end is near. Both publications are basically being told, "Fish or cut bait" or follow The Sunday Citizen into the trash bin.

Gee whiz, Seacoast Foster's, we hardly knew ya.