The Byrds through songwriter Pete Seeger quoted the ancient writings of King Solomon when they sang in 1965, “To every thing there is a season.”

The season for Press and Tower is changing.

Although there is plenty of local media news out there, I just don’t have the capacity to cover it. My work load has increased by about one-third in the past six months sapping my energy for extra stuff. Add it some projects that are coming up that could put me in an bit of a weird place and I think it’s time to reconfigure this project.

I’ll be leaving up the website, although comments will close on February 1st. My plan is to maintain the pressandtower Twitter account, tweeting news and retweeting interesting articles as we come across them. I would encourage you that if you are not on Twitter, you need to be, since that where all of the media practitioners are posting. And don’t forget to follow pressandtower!

I am extremely gratified at what we’ve been able to accomplish with this blog. We started out providing some continuity to those who faithfully supported Jack Tirak’s Erie Media-Go-Round before his untimely passing in the summer of 2008. From our launch on September 1, 2008 through today, we’ve generated 531 posts, over 3,800 approved comments, and 677 tweets.

Erie media, as well as the national scene has been through extreme change in these past 53 months, and we covered it all. We tracked through the digital TV conversion, and the painful changes at the newspaper. We saw the strengthening of one radio group, and the return to broadcasting of one of its favorite sons. We celebrated when a community came together to host a network TV production, and we mourned when far too many of media’s icons passed away. We went through the advertising depression and are now enjoying the strong resurgence. We broke stories consistently, such as the FCC shut down of a pirate radio station, the removal of Rush Limbaugh from the Erie air, and the TV news consolidation saga. We took you behind the scenes of a local TV morning show, and the Erie Seawolves broadcast, and interviewed some of the smartest thinkers in the business.

Most importantly, we gave voice to the consumers and practitioners, the media-ites starting out, and the reliable veterans. Hopefully, it was done in an environment of good cheer and civility. As for me, I had a blast!

Thank you for your support and encouragement over all these years. We don’t know what the next five years will bring in local media; what successes and trials lie ahead. I would encourage you to be a part of the solution. Support advertisers that invest in local media outlets, thus allowing local jobs. As for the producers, treat your audiences with the highest respect and empathy.

I believe that Erie’s newspapers, TV and radio stations, and new media help make our community a better place. Lets continue to work toward that end, together.