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Editorial: Community newspapers will survive
Commentary by Theresa Seraphim
for South Peace News
In this digital age, a question has arisen in the journalism field: are newspapers done for?
It’s a good question. Large dailies are struggling, and some, such as the Baltimore Examiner and the Rocky Mountain News, have ceased operating. Being in a large city no longer guarantees a newspaper will be able to keep going, at least not when readers can get the news more quickly by turning on their TVs or clicking on the Net.
So, do newspapers still have a place?
One could be facetious and say, “Well, people will still need something with which to wrap their fish and line their bird cages, right?”
But the value of newspapers goes far beyond such uses.
Newspapers have the advantage of being able to go more in depth than 30-second sound bites. They provide a permanent record of events, to which the reader can readily refer time and time again, without having to turn on a machine.
Indeed, that’s the first advantage in a 10-point list cited at cyberjournalist.net: “My newspaper has never crashed, gone down, or flashed animated ads at me.”
Other advantages, according to the list, include having no need for a laptop or wireless connection, being able to tear out and save a story without having to pay to read it a month later, not having to sign in and thus remember passwords, being inexpensive and easy to replace if lost, not being made of unrecyclable toxic materials, and having a correction posted with an explanation, rather than sneaked into the original story after it’s been read.
While all this is true of all papers, community newspapers can add even more advantages to their list.
The main selling point of community newspapers is they do what their name says – they provide a reflection of the community they serve. While events in various places of the world are important, and should be included in weeklies for the sake of awareness, readers are much more likely to be interested in local material.
After all, that’s what affects them most immediately and involves people they know.
Because they reflect their community, weekly newspapers tend to have a loyal following. Sure, readers will be the first to point out any errors, but that shows they are actually reading the newspaper, not just skimming it.
Readers also bring story ideas to reporters, showing a trust in that person and in the paper as a whole. While it is against journalistic policy for editors and reporters to allow readers to dictate what is written in a newspaper, story ideas are always welcome, and the aforementioned trust is much appreciated as it shows the newspaper and its staff are very much a part of the community. It means that readers know the weekly is their paper and they will champion it.
Because they reflect their community, weekly newspapers also provide a snapshot in time, of various community events and people. It is not unusual for community paper staff to get requests for copies of the paper because their grandson, friend, teacher, etc. was in a picture or a story. A newspaper provides a permanent record, and community papers provide that record of locals, adding to the history of the community.
So, in this digital age, while larger papers struggle to keep readers interested, community newspapers have a ready-made following.
True, they have to abide by the same journalistic rules as the dailies. But they fulfill a unique and important role of reflecting the life of their community.
Community newspapers have survived – and they will continue to survive.
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