WATERTOWN â While deemed essential businesses in the early days of the pandemic last March, newspapers nationwide took significant financial hits in 2020 as their staffs worked tirelessly to report on the pandemic and its effect on communities. The Watertown Daily Times was not immune, but the locally owned newspaper fared better than many others owned by publicly traded companies, many of which laid off reporting staffs and others closed entirely. Advertising revenue in each month of 2020 shrunk by an average of about 40% when compared to the same month in 2019 as businesses that have relied on newspaper print and online marketing struggled to maintain their own supply chains, some struggling to keep afloat themselves. Many advertisers continued their support and more readers lent a hand by subscribing in print and online. The Johnson Newspaper Corp., the owner of the Times, lent a hand through an advertising grant program that extended discounted advertising to more than 100 businesses across the state through the spring.