Is the object you are now holding in your hands (or reading online) about to disappear?I refer to the newspaper, and I ask because I care deeply about the answer.My entire career was spent in newspapers — as a reporter, an editor and a publisher — when the industry was still thriving as the dominant force in public information and advertising. Now, looking back from a retirement perch, I see this institution declining day by day and wonder what this foretells.The evidence is everywhere: newspapers cutting back on size and number of pages, layoffs in the newsroom, and newspapers being sold at fire-sale prices or just shutting down. It is not just the “object” itself but journalism as a public service that concerns me, although I do confess to relishing a paper in my hands, the smell of the ink on that porous newsprint, and the systematic ordering of articles and photos as opposed to the undifferentiated deluge of data we call IT.We all know many of the reasons why newspapers are no longer as relevant and influential as they once were — and that means all the way back to before the founding of our country until about 25 years ago. That’s when newspaper readership, circulation and advertising revenue began its downward slide and the world of electronic communications, PCs and the Internet started to dominate our lives. I don’t blame the new technology, and I do use it myself. It is fast, encompassing, economical and interactive, much more so than a daily newspaper could ever be. But there are things that a newspaper still does better than anything or anyone else. I speak about serving the community.When a new school budget is proposed that could better educate my grandchildren or raise my taxes; when an old friend has died; when a new movie theater is planned in town; when the latest response times of the volunteer fire department are reported; what the state legislature is up to; and how the high school football team is doing: All that news still comes primarily from newspapers. Why? Because they are the ones with boots on the ground. Newspapers still employ the bulk of professional reporters, editors and photographers dedicated to finding out and telling us what is happening in our own backyard. No one else has been able to effectively do that. That doesn’t mean it can’t change in the future, and it doesn’t mean that newspapers have ignored the new technologies. On the contrary, their survival seems to depend upon it. The main problem is that there are fewer news professionals to do the necessary work.The Pew Research Center recently reported that U.S. newspapers have cut their news staffs by 30 percent since 2000 and employ the fewest journalists since 1978 — when our country had 97 million fewer residents (222 million to 320 million today). The electronic media have not filled that gap.For those unfamiliar with media economics, it is important to know that a successful newspaper — or any news provider, for that matter — must make money in order to fulfill its mission as a public servant. Most of the revenue — as much as 70 percent — traditionally came from advertising. Newspapers made their money mostly from display ads, such as a department store’s listing of the latest bargains, and classified ads, such as help-wanted notices and apartment rentals — neither of which radio or television could adequately provide. Today, the Internet gets much of that business, except for local retail advertising, where local newspapers still enjoy an edge. I believe one reason for that is that local businesses know that local newspapers are very much still a key part of the community. As an editor and publisher, I always felt that a newspaper’s most important function was to serve as the public’s “watchdog” of government. But I couldn’t afford the staff to cover all the board meetings, courts, fire and police in our area without making enough money to pay those bills while continuing to make a profit for owners. That is no longer a given.I think the public bears some of the responsibility for the demise of newspapers. It is clear that the need for two incomes in a family and the growing call on people’s time have made newspaper reading more of a luxury than a necessity. But willingness, or the lack of it, plays a role, too. Even back in the 1980s, when I was a publisher, reader surveys consistently showed that “watchdog” news was being read less than stories about celebrities, the entertainment industry, human interest, sports and the comics. We see this pattern continuing today in low voter turnout for town budget meetings, despite their direct impact on our pocketbooks and the good functioning of town government.The strength of newspapers in our society cannot be separated from the democratic process. I hope readers will remember that when their subscription bills come due.Forrest C. Palmer, a resident of Heritage Village in Southbury, began his career at the Waterbury Republican in 1951, joined the Danbury News Times as editor in 1968 and retired as its publisher in 1990. He has remained active in Freedom of Information advocacy and is a past president of the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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