Are Local Papers the Future of Print Journalism?
Interesting piece in the Washington Spectator, noting that the Anniston (Alabama) Star seems to be doing reasonably well, even as big-city papers around the country move to Internet-only or shut their doors entirely. Even the Boston Globe is teetering.
In my own area, I read the Daily Hampshire Gazette, published in Northampton, Massachusetts for over 200 years. Northampton is a town of about 30,000; the whole county had only 152,251 in the 2000 census.
Yet, despite a proliferation of local online advertising channels and a tough economy, the Gazette seems to be doing well also. The parent company has even acquired several newspapers recently, and the Gazette also publishes a growing number niche magazines.
Early on, the paper decided it would not cannibalize print with its web edition; many of the stories (especially the local news stuff that would be hard to get elsewhere) are behind a firewall, available only to paid subscribers. Oddly enough, I notice that the link to the Spectator story is also subscriber-only. Hmmm–can this model work? The Wall Street Journal abandoned it, but clearly traditional print journalism is not doing well in a world of free content from professional journalists.
A lifelong activist, profitability and marketing specialist Shel Horowitz’s mission is to fix crises like hunger, poverty, racism, war, and catastrophic climate change—by showing the business world how fixing them can make a profit. An author, international speaker, and TEDx Talker, his award-winning 10th book, Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World, lays out a blueprint for creating and MARKETING those profitable change-making products and services. He is happy to help you craft your messaging and develop profit strategies. Learn more (and download excerpts from the book) at http://goingbeyondsustainability.com
Yes, indeed, local newspapers continue to do well despite the demise of their large city counterparts.
In my state, which has large tracts of rural countryside, the hometown paper is what informs the people living in the small villages. Much of it is not newsworthy in the sense that it tells a story, but I certainly want to know when the Lions Club is holding their pancake breakfast, or who is speaking at the library next week, or what’s going on at the town hall.
This sort of information can certainly go online, but the local businesses continue to support the local offline newspaper, and for that I am grateful.
Yes, indeed, local newspapers continue to do well despite the demise of their large city counterparts.
In my state, which has large tracts of rural countryside, the hometown paper is what informs the people living in the small villages. Much of it is not newsworthy in the sense that it tells a story, but I certainly want to know when the Lions Club is holding their pancake breakfast, or who is speaking at the library next week, or what’s going on at the town hall.
This sort of information can certainly go online, but the local businesses continue to support the local offline newspaper, and for that I am grateful.
Yes, indeed, local newspapers continue to do well despite the demise of their large city counterparts.
In my state, which has large tracts of rural countryside, the hometown paper is what informs the people living in the small villages. Much of it is not newsworthy in the sense that it tells a story, but I certainly want to know when the Lions Club is holding their pancake breakfast, or who is speaking at the library next week, or what’s going on at the town hall.
This sort of information can certainly go online, but the local businesses continue to support the local offline newspaper, and for that I am grateful.
Yes, indeed, local newspapers continue to do well despite the demise of their large city counterparts.
In my state, which has large tracts of rural countryside, the hometown paper is what informs the people living in the small villages. Much of it is not newsworthy in the sense that it tells a story, but I certainly want to know when the Lions Club is holding their pancake breakfast, or who is speaking at the library next week, or what’s going on at the town hall.
This sort of information can certainly go online, but the local businesses continue to support the local offline newspaper, and for that I am grateful.
“I read the Daily Hampshire Gazette, published in Northampton, Massachusetts for over 200 years.”
Wow! You don’t look that old! 🙂
Seriously though, the smaller regional papers are based upon a different business model than the large metropolitan dailies. The former are typically community-centric, focused upon providing a service, with the maximization of profits holding a lower priority than the corporate-modeled papers. As such, they aren’t so quick to cease publication in response to a dip in the bottom line. Add to that the facts that their overhead is typically much lower than the big rags (reporters & contributors paid significantly less, production subcontracted, rather than performed in a capital-intensive in-house press), as well as the less tangible but significant appeal of a more personal appeal, and it should come as no surprise that the smaller papers are surviving while the larger ones falter.
“I read the Daily Hampshire Gazette, published in Northampton, Massachusetts for over 200 years.”
Wow! You don’t look that old! 🙂
Seriously though, the smaller regional papers are based upon a different business model than the large metropolitan dailies. The former are typically community-centric, focused upon providing a service, with the maximization of profits holding a lower priority than the corporate-modeled papers. As such, they aren’t so quick to cease publication in response to a dip in the bottom line. Add to that the facts that their overhead is typically much lower than the big rags (reporters & contributors paid significantly less, production subcontracted, rather than performed in a capital-intensive in-house press), as well as the less tangible but significant appeal of a more personal appeal, and it should come as no surprise that the smaller papers are surviving while the larger ones falter.
“I read the Daily Hampshire Gazette, published in Northampton, Massachusetts for over 200 years.”
Wow! You don’t look that old! 🙂
Seriously though, the smaller regional papers are based upon a different business model than the large metropolitan dailies. The former are typically community-centric, focused upon providing a service, with the maximization of profits holding a lower priority than the corporate-modeled papers. As such, they aren’t so quick to cease publication in response to a dip in the bottom line. Add to that the facts that their overhead is typically much lower than the big rags (reporters & contributors paid significantly less, production subcontracted, rather than performed in a capital-intensive in-house press), as well as the less tangible but significant appeal of a more personal appeal, and it should come as no surprise that the smaller papers are surviving while the larger ones falter.
“I read the Daily Hampshire Gazette, published in Northampton, Massachusetts for over 200 years.”
Wow! You don’t look that old! 🙂
Seriously though, the smaller regional papers are based upon a different business model than the large metropolitan dailies. The former are typically community-centric, focused upon providing a service, with the maximization of profits holding a lower priority than the corporate-modeled papers. As such, they aren’t so quick to cease publication in response to a dip in the bottom line. Add to that the facts that their overhead is typically much lower than the big rags (reporters & contributors paid significantly less, production subcontracted, rather than performed in a capital-intensive in-house press), as well as the less tangible but significant appeal of a more personal appeal, and it should come as no surprise that the smaller papers are surviving while the larger ones falter.