Small-town editor feels encouraged about weeklies

While some people have begun to mourn the death of newspapers in the U.S., community newspapers are doing better than their metropolitan cousins, and one community editor writes that small-town papers, especially weeklies, are an irreplaceable commodity, and are thriving in environments where people crave local news.

Debra DeAngelo

"Not every small newspaper is dying a slow, choking death, " writes Debra DeAngelo, editor of the weekly Winters Express in Winters, Calif. "Many are surviving just as they are, despite years of economic stagnation and the explosion of online technology. But how? We should be dead. Why aren’t we?"

She answers her own question: "We’ve had to be creative and cut all sorts of corners, but we’re holding our own. Moreover, people still want their newspapers. The Express still matters to them. It all comes down to personal, local focus. People still want to see their “future subscribers” on the front page, and their deceased loved ones on A-2, the smiling faces of the Little League champs, and fraying old wedding photos in 50th anniversary stories. They still lovingly cut these out and save them until they’re crinkled and yellow, because printing out a story from online just doesn’t feel the same. It just doesn’t. It has no soul. People still want to read the city council stories on paper rather than watch them on cable. And they love guessing who the mystery “Who is this?” person is each week and looking for their friends and neighbors in the weekly police report."

She concludes, "I’ve been predicting that I’ll see newspapers disappear within my lifetime, along with typewriters and cassette tapes. Yes, I’ve been feeling just this pessimistic about our industry’s future, or lack thereof. But suddenly, I’m feeling encouraged. Together, us little guys might find ways to strengthen our readership and rejuvenate our enthusiasm, maybe even get off life support and actually thrive. I hope so. And so should you. Because trust me, you’ll miss us when we’re gone." (Read more)