Those days have come back, with modern touches thrown in.

More than a year ago, the Lake Placid News launched our All Access package for print and digital subscribers at www.lakeplacidnews.com — eight years after our sister newspaper, the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

Until the fall of 2022, the News had been posting website content for anyone to read at no charge. It was a big risk to give away a valuable product — for us and most of the newspaper industry — but the risk didn’t pay off, and newspapers across the nation have started charging online readers, in various ways.

Eventually, we also declared the free-news experiment a failure.

Our reporters and editors in the News and Enterprise newsroom in Saranac Lake keep busy covering news and sports around the Tri-Lakes and Olympic regions of the Adirondack Park. We also have employees to produce, print and distribute the paper, sell ads and manage the books. Those people need to get paid; they have families to support. That means we can no longer offer the fruits of their labor for free.

We welcomed these changes. After all, who else is giving away their products for free?

Would you stop by Black Rooster Maple in Keene and ask for free maple syrup, Placid Planet Bicycles and ask for a free bicycle, Adirondack Chocolates in Wilmington and Lake Placid and ask for free chocolates or Pure Placid and ask for free soy candles and body lotion?

Of course not. These are businesses, just like the newspaper is a business, and our products have value.

In November 2023, we saw our readers appreciate the hard work of our reporters when covering the contested elections in the towns of North Elba, Keene and Wilmington. One reader from the town of Jay reached out in an email:

“The Adirondack Daily Enterprise and Lake Placid News are my first stop for local news, especially the morning after Election Day. I appreciate all you do to keep our communities informed and up to date on what’s happening in local government.”

Like any other local business, we need your support. We need you to be a subscriber.

On our websites for the News and Enterprise, we feature a replica edition of the latest issue for your smartphone, tablet or computer. As a subscriber, you get complete access to our website content. That includes news and sports stories, obituaries, editorials and letters going back years.

Print subscribers get all this at no extra charge, and we have digital-only rates. You can sign up on the website or call our office at 518-891-2600. Existing subscribers should call our circulation manager, Liz Murray, to set up digital access.

Since 1905 for the Lake Placid News and 1895 for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, we’ve been proud to say to you — whether you’ve read our newspaper for free or purchased it – thank you for being a reader. And more and more, we look forward to saying to you, thank you for being a subscriber.

Happy reading and happy spring.