Northwestern University’s Penelope Abernathy has come out with another study on the demise of local newspapers — her specialty. More bad news, she says. Papers are disappearing at the rate of two-and-a-half every week.
The national press is at last taking note of this crisis. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that “the decline of local news is having an outsize impact on the entire media industry.” Its article is headlined “Your Local Newspaper Might Not Have a Single Reporter.” It’s about “ghost newsrooms” with literally no staff and therefore no local coverage. Many of these empty newsrooms are Gannett’s. They’re the country’s largest newspaper company.
Gannett laid off about 600 people last year but recently posted ads for two reporters to cover Taylor Swift and Beyoncé full-time. “The publisher said the new roles were part of a core strategy to rethink coverage,” the Journal reported, “including dedicating whole jobs to covering big personalities and topics that appeal to national audiences and drive revenue.”
Gannett’s chief content officer told the Journal that “this is how we save local journalism.”
I can’t think of a faster way to kill it.
Luckily, there are bright spots on the landscape. Prof. Dan Kennedy of Northeastern and Ellen Clegg, formerly of the Boston Globe, have a new book: What Works in Community News. They’ve been researching startup news organizations and finding oases in the deserts. Many of them, like the New Haven Independent and the Texas Tribune, are nonprofit and online only — a growing trend. Just last week, the nonprofit, digital-only Plymouth Independent made its debut, and there’s talk of a nonprofit startup in the Mid-Cape.
We considered that strategy for the Indie and decided that being in print was critically important. One reason is economic: a strong business community provides crucial support to local journalism with its print advertising. That’s because well-designed ads in print are more valuable than their obnoxious online cousins. One reader wrote last week about the Indie: “I read it all, including the ads.”
We have other reasons, though.
A print newspaper is a tangible thing. You can sit with it while you sip your coffee. You can fold it open to a recipe and leave it for your partner to find. Research shows you’ll understand more and retain information better when you read on paper, not on a screen.
Best of all, print newspapers allow unexpected discoveries. Leafing through the pages, you encounter stories that you weren’t looking for. The effect is the opposite of what happens when online algorithms ceaselessly feed us more of what we’ve already liked.
That unexpected intimacy suits small town life. Learning about your neighbor’s quiet artistry or an elder’s surprising past echoes the unplanned moments we share at the grocery store or post office. We run into new stories on the page like we run into old friends at the bank — without intention, perhaps, but we’re glad we did.
