The story began on Friday, when Stephen King, master of horror and the fantastic, has announced that The Portland Press Herald , one of the largest newspapers in the State of Maine, where he resides, was going to delete his topic Sunday devoted to books written by the author of this small border State of Canada. “Tell the newspaper NOT to DO THAT,” tweeted the novelist to the success of 71-year-old, who became famous with novels such as Carrie or The Shining . A lot of local authors “depend on these reviews to continue”, he added.

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More than 8000 of its fans have relayed his message. The management of the newspaper, which employs some 70 journalists, have reacted by putting the challenge to help find new subscribers to offset “the thousands of dollars,” that was the section written mostly by freelancers. “If you can convince 100 of your followers to take out a subscription to the digital edition, we réinstaurerons immediately reviews of books”, has tweeted the newspaper, which has less than 10,000 digital subscribers. On Monday, the goal of 100 subscriptions – $ 15 for 12 weeks – was largely achieved: “Thank you to all those who are subscribers to the Press Herald “, wrote Stephen King. “You have saved the day. There are countries where the arts are seen as vital, but unfortunately, not this one”.

“We wondered how he could use his influence to support the journalism, local”,

Cliff Schechtman, editor of the Portland Press Herald

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Cliff Schechtman, he stated that the daily had collected “nearly 250 new subscribers” thanks to this operation. “When someone like Stephen King is involved, with more than 5 million followers on Twitter, we knew that it would have an impact,” he said to the AFP by telephone. “The financial pressures do not decrease to the extent that the sector is undergoing significant change, but in this case, it is a happy ending”, he stressed.

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If all the media have lost income with the rise of social networks and the availability of numerous free information on the Net, local newspapers, with limited means, are particularly affected and often struggle for their survival.