Dear fellow Lee Enterprises shareholders,

If you only knew.

If you only knew how much Lee has alienated the loyal readers of The Buffalo News, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and its other news operations through spotty customer service, inferior digital products and a systematically weakened print newspaper.

If you only knew how Lee consistently fails to capitalize on our strengths as the best team of journalists in our regions by dramatically reducing our ranks. Buffalo’s newsroom, for instance, has gone from 90 union-represented employees to 50 in just four years of Lee ownership.

If you only knew the actions taken to hasten the decline of print circulation and print revenue without providing desperately needed and user-friendly digital products.

If you only knew just how bad our mobile apps are. The Buffalo News mobile app, for instance, has an average 1.6 rating out of five on the Apple and Google Play stores.

If you only knew the frustration of people who can’t sign in – and stay signed in – to our website, of people who can’t get their paper delivered consistently and of people who can’t reach someone in our outsourced customer service department.

If you only knew the unwillingness of Lee corporate leaders to articulate a clear vision for the future, solicit employee feedback, communicate with us or even meet – just once – with staff. 

If you only knew just how many resources Lee continues to pull out of our communities, demoralizing staff and eroding its reputation with each cut.

If you only knew this to the extent that we do, you would understand why we are asking you, as a shareholder, to push Lee to immediately improve our digital platforms, address poor customer service and seek feedback from those of us who care about our news organizations.

It’s clear, more than ever, that the company’s future and the future of its largest holdings depends on it.

Now you know.

Signed fellow Lee shareholders: the Buffalo Newspaper Guild and United Media Guild.