Last One Standing 
WHAV Becomes Last of Haverhill-Based News Media

By Tim Coco
President and General Manager (volunteer)

These are difficult times for traditional news media. One needs to look no further than the Eagle-Tribune’s and Haverhill Gazette’s decision to close their downtown Haverhill office this week.

My pointing this out should in no way be construed as a criticism of the Eagle-Tribune family. They are not the first victim of changing times and will not be the last. Curiously, when one looks at the Haverhill Gazette’s former office, one will see a building above and to the right on West Street. It is the former Haverhill Record newspaper plant now occupied by the law firm of Cirome, Harb and Rose. While WHAV, admittedly, takes a certain pride in being the last local news media to remain based in Haverhill, it too stands on shaky legs.

The same Internet that makes today’s WHAV possible is also the one that took millions of dollars in classified advertising away—the bedrock financial underpinning of newspapers. The availability of free online news sites also reduced subscriptions and dramatically reduced the cost of display advertising. However, I see two other factors that may prove more meaningful:

• Citizens and businesses don’t support their media with subscriptions, memberships or advertising

• There are far fewer businesses and institutions of adequate size to support the media

I have often said I would like to be paired with a sociologist to study the former. It isn’t simply that citizens and businesses don’t support the media, they often don’t support each other. I don’t understand the dynamics, but the results are one-upmanship, infighting and jealousy of other’s perceived successes. In 2001, Boston Globe reporter Larry Tye wrote a column headlined, “In Haverhill, an identity crisis; Battered city struggles to find a sense of community.” In searching for an answer, Tye talked with the late Gregory Laing, curator of Special Collections at the Haverhill Public Library.

“The whole community has just imploded…When urban renewal tore down the city physically it did something to the city’s psyche. It’s like a battered child,” Lang told Tye. It’s the best explanation I’ve heard.

Tye’s column also hinted at reasons why there are fewer business and institutions. Urban renewal took away blocks of downtown businesses in hopes more vibrant ones would replace them. It didn’t happen. The former Haverhill Gas Co. left Haverhill in a huff after being dared to do so by political leaders. Later, the company would be swallowed in a series of mergers. Not only did advertising largely disappear, but so did the utility’s representation on local boards and among the ranks of service clubs. Then the big chain stores and restaurants came to the area, but they also didn’t advertise to the same degree as their forebears or send representatives to help build local institutions.

Losing long-time institutions such as Bradford College and so many local banks certainly didn’t help the city’s self image. Incidentally, in its own small way, WHAV recently helped save the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce by bringing to light certain back room dealings that might have lead to the organization’s dismantling. Therein lies another problem faced by the media. News isn’t always popular or well-received.

The Haverhill Gazette was hurting long before the Eagle-Tribune purchased it in 1998. It lost a fortune building WHAV in 1947 and then lost readers both in a nasty union battle beginning at the end of 1958 and a lengthy battle against the Manchester Union Leader’s proxy newspaper, the Haverhill Journal. In fact, the Eagle-Tribune was one of 32 publishers that saved The Gazette from bankruptcy during the Union Leader war that ended in 1965. That group, Newspapers of New England, had only one aim—keep publisher William Loeb out—and not to build a great newspaper.

Out-of-town leadership in the form of Scripps League Newspapers that followed Newspapers of New England put profits way ahead of community needs. I should know since I worked for them between 1980 and 1984 after leaving WHAV. I worked at The Gazette’s then-new and modern facility in the woods of Bradley Brook, but it was oddly disconnected from downtown.

The 191-year-old Haverhill Gazette no longer has a physical presence in Haverhill. Beyond that its parent company likely can’t afford to cover City Hall and every board and commission the way democracy requires. This could easily be WHAV’s fate too.

It will take some time, but the solution is rebuilding the city’s institutions, strengthening civic pride and supporting the remaining media.

‘Someone You Know is on WHAV’ 
Promote Your Civic, Charitable or Cultural Event Free

Easy to Participate WHAV invites community leaders to take advantage of the opportunity to record an announcement on behalf of a local civic or cultural event. Simply use the form here, email [email protected] or call (978) 374-2111, Ext. 111, to submit your news. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Haverhill Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

The Haverhill Cultural Council has awarded WHAV a grant to help raise awareness of the “Community Spotlight” program, aimed at drawing both participants and listeners.

Community Spotlight’s series of one-minute vignettes are placed in a rotation and heard a minimum of 19 times per day. Community Spotlight is also generously supported by Haverhill Bank.

WHAV Turns 65 this Friday 
Send a Birthday Gift By Becoming a Member

WHAV turns 65 years old this Friday! Consider sending a birthday gift in the form of WHAV membership. When you support not-for-profit WHAV, you ensure the community always receives accurate, independent and objective news reporting. A free media is vital for the functioning of democracy.

Your annual donation of $25 or more makes you a member of WHAV and you are entitled to the benefits outlined below. Additional donations during the fiscal year (July 1-June 30) will accrue and count toward higher levels of benefits. You will automatically be notified when you reach a higher benefit level. If you have already contributed, you will shortly receive a membership packet by mail.

To join, or receive more information, click here. A contribution form also appears at the bottom of this page. Business sponsorships remain available here.

Thom Hartmann Moves to 3 p.m. 
More Music During the Day as Talk Begins Later

The Thom Hartmann Program is moving to “drive time,” 3 to 6 p.m., necessitating some welcome improvements in WHAV’s weekday schedule.

WHAV’s Soft Gold music (1954-1979) now continues until 3 p.m. when Thom Hartmann begins his three-hour, live call-in program. Local news, Community Spotlight and weather remain a prominent part of each hour, all day long.

Free Speech Radio News airs at 6 p.m., followed by talk and public affairs programs including the Open Mike Show, Mondays, and the David Pakman Show, Tuesdays through Fridays. Other programs include CounterSpin, Making Contact, Sprouts, Between the Lines, Explorations in Science with Dr. Michio Kaku, Alternative Radio with David Barsamian, New Dimensions with Justine and Michael Toms and MyND Talk with Dr. Pamela Brewer.

A complete program guide in PDF format is available for downloading here.