Large chains can bring more funding, bigger names, and tech support to smaller papers, but local ownership is still a better bet, says Northwestern journalism professor Penny Abernathy, who studies news deserts and coined the term. "All things being equal, local ownership is always best for the community where the newspaper is located," Abernathy told Jacob. "That’s because a local owner is going to know that market and know the residents."
Hedge funds may not see small papers as big moneymakers, but many local owners say they can be profitable. Frederic Rutberg, who along with others bought New England Newspapers from the Alden-owned Digital First Media in 2016, told Jacob: "People can talk about 'Newspapers don’t make money. Newspapers do not make money.' Well, guess what: They do … You’ll have a solid income. I’m not talking about Google income, but for the local newspaper, it’s good money."
Townspeople in Pittsfield, Mass., were thrilled about the Berkshire Eagle's ownership going local, Rutberg told Jacob: "I used to walk down the street and strangers would come up and say thank you."
Tim Schmidt, who launched small Missouri newspaper group Westplex Media in 2018, bought three papers, including the struggling Mexico Ledger from Gannett in 2020. “I said I think this is a paper we can turn around, he told Jacob. “It did not have local community support. And we’ve done well since buying it. The community is now back interested in the paper.”
Part of that is personal connections. “There were no local faces of the paper” under Gannett, and the reporter “was also working for four other of their newspapers,” he told Jacob. “We have a staff that is in Mexico every day. . . . The newspaper has to care about the community. I think local ownership plays a huge part in that.”
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