I chuckled this week after opening a letter from the Des Moines Register. A tint block at the top in boldface letters read, IMPORTANT: Make a payment before your subscription ends.
This may not seem amusing, unless you know I've been a subscriber for 40+ years. I'm also a rural subscriber who must wait to receive her daily newspaper in the mailbox with my noon mail delivery. And, to top it off, it's not uncommon that one or two editions arrives late each week.
It's not likely that I'll ever drop my subscription. I also subscribe to two local newspapers, and to the digital New York Times The Morning. I am a dyed in the wool newshound, and I prefer print.
But I also love Iowa Public Radio and National Public Radio. I was excited when I heard that the host and editor of On Point, Meghna Chakrabarti, would be in Des Moines to talk about the importance of local journalism to democracy.
Chakrabarti, who grew up in Oregon, introduced the topic with a brief slideshow of her family's vacation to Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "National parks are protected, defended, and cared for by the National Park Service," she said. "We know how to protect our natural spaces. I 'm here to suggest that our civic spaces in this country are under threat, and need protection. The most influential people in the media who create civic spaces are local journalists."
She stated that freedom of the press was explicitly enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to protect American democracy. "Defending American democracy should be the mission of any serious journalist," she said. "We are failing miserably."
She acknowledged the importance of the national media. "But local journalists have the most impact on the day-to-day lives of Americans," she said. "People need to know what's happening in their community or state, and there's only one place for that: local journalism."
Civic spaces for all journalistic platforms are shrinking. Chakrabarti cited a Pew Research Center survey showing that the number of newsroom employees at U.S. newspapers declined 57% from 2008 to 2020. The decline in broadcast wasn't as dramatic, although radio has lost 26% of its newsroom employees. Of course, digital has grown. But although 2,100 newspapers have shut down since 2005, only an estimated 500 local or state digital news sites have replaced them.
Chakrabarti says this trend is creating news deserts, defined as "communities, either rural or urban, where residents have very limited access to the sort of credible and comprehensive news and information that feeds democracy at the grassroots level." (For more, visit the Hussman School of Journalism and Media Center, supported by the Knight Foundation, at usnewsdeserts.com.)
Using the drop-down menu from usnewsdeserts.com to select Iowa, Chakrabarti was pleasantly surprised to see a plentiful number of newspapers. (Dig deeper, and you can look up ownership of Iowa newspapers, and whether owners are private individuals or investors; drill down to your county level.)
In contrast, she showed a map of Illinois--revealing only a few isolated counties in the northeast corner of the state with 2 or more newspapers in each county. Texas has 134 counties with only 1 newspaper. "This should set off alarms across the country," she said. "Why does it matter?
It raises political, social, and economic implications. Research reveals that in counties where the population is impoverished, isolated, older, and less educated, only half have one newspaper, and two-thirds lack a daily newspaper. Residents also are less likely to vote.
Access to critical information is vital to making informed decisions that impact quality of life and economic issues. "Without it, people are less likely to believe they have 'a say,' " she pointed out.
I know this is true. I see it during every election in our nearby small Iowa towns.
More trust in local
Between 2017 and 2022, unfavorable ratings for the national news media escalated. "Trust in the media was never high, but it remained static for years," Chakrabarti said. "Pew Research found a huge partisan gap in trust levels after 2016."
It's not hard to understand, is it? I'll never forget my disbelief and horror as I watched our former president calling members of the media "the enemy of the American people" during televised news conferences.
Polarization, technology, and media silos continue to deepen the distrust in national news. In fact, a 2023 Gallup and Knight Foundation survey found that almost half said the national news media intended to mislead, misinform, or persuade the public to adopt a particular point of view through its reporting.
"There's a "big disconnect," Chakrabarti said.
However, earlier Pew research (2021) also revealed that local community newspapers are perceived as more reliable and trustworthy. "Local journalism is important because it has to do with trust," Chakrabarti said. The survey found that 66% of Republicans and 84% of Democrats trusted local news. Social media was trusted by a minority of people in both political parties.
But Americans seem oblivious to the threat. A 2018 Pew Research Center survey showed that about three-quarters of the general public was unaware of the economic struggles of local news organizations. "People are not paying attention," Chakrabarti said.
National views dominate
It's no secret that the for-profit business media model has been decimated by the Internet. Nationally, the largest 25 newspaper chains own one-third of all U.S. newspapers. One major culprit is private equity and hedge fund owners. In 2021 we followed the story of the unsuccessful hostile takeover bid of Lee Enterprises by the New York-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital. Lee Enterprises owns the Sioux City Journal, the Globe Gazette, and a stable of other Midwestern newspapers.
Although Iowa's media landscape may appear healthy on the usnewsdeserts.com map, it's been greatly consolidated. I have witnessed this on the local level.
For 44 years, The Ogden Reporter was owned by a husband-wife team, with a couple of part-time employees. The paper offered a lively mix of community coverage. Following the death of owner Gary Alban in 2010, it was sold to Mid-America Publishing. Today the Ogden Reporter's office is in nearby Madrid, where its hometown newspaper also is part of this chain that owns more than 25 Iowa newspapers. The new editor works hard, but when I asked him why the photos didn't include captions to identify people, he said he "didn't have time to chase down people".
But there's hope. I've been happy to read a couple of articles in the Reporter republished from The Iowa Capital Dispatch, a nonprofit independent online news service (iowacapitaldispatch.com). My niece in northwest Iowa texted me earlier this year to say that she read my column about EMS services that was republished by the Iowa Capital Dispatch in her local paper. (Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a national nonprofit supported by grants and donors and readers; statesnewsroom.com.)
The Dayton Leader was launched in 2013 as an alternative to The Dayton Review. The following Review headline, "Local girl returns home from Peace Corpse," tells you everything you need to know about it.
The owner and editor of the Leader worked tirelessly to cover city council meetings, community club, school athletics and performances and elections. She featured surrounding communities, including the grassroots campaign to save the Grand School in Boxholm. But she sold the newspaper last year, and returned to teaching. The new owner only has three other newspapers. Shortly after a key reporter left, the paper was put up for sale, with the stated objective to sell it to a local individual.
My heart sank a few months ago when I read an item by the owner/publisher, asking readers their opinions about ChatGPT. I can see how it could reduce staff time at small papers. But I'm not sure it would increase trust in local media!
When I asked the Leader's former owner and editor, Kendra Breitsprecher, to summarize the challenges of community newspapers, she told me:
"1. Money. Expenses of printing, mailing, and labor.
2. Social media. Newspapers are expected to post everything. Why subscribe? Although it doesn't pay the bills, newspapers need print subscribers--and they're getting harder to find.
3. Personal aspects of small-town newspapers. Political leaders are thin-skinned, and may use their leverage over editors.
4. "Print is dead" perception. It isn't, but the perception is a challenge.
5. Not enough hours in the day, and no money to hire help.
6. "Fake news" ideas. All media suffers.
7. Lack of ads. Down-selling ads doesn't pay the bills. Facebook page, with 10,000 followers helped with ads."
New local models
Last session, I held my breath when Iowa legislators introduced a bill creating a new state website to publish public notices and eliminating a long-standing requirement for cities, schools, and other entities to publish the notices in newspapers.
“I don’t believe that it's the government’s job to support the newspaper industry,” said Sen. Chris Cournoyer, R-LeClaire. “So, if that’s an issue with their business model, perhaps that’s something they need to look at.”
Sen. Herman Quirmbach countered, ". . . I think that there are a variety of reasons that we want local newspapers to stay in business to inform the community, not just about public notices, but about all manner of events within the community.”
"Without legal notices, most newspapers in Iowa would close," Breitsprecher told me.
The Western Iowa News Foundation is an interesting initiative that may offer a new business model. It was formed in 2020 as a 501 (c) (3) to support community journalism that ensures long-term access to accurate local news and investigative reporting. The Foundation’s goal is to funnel philanthropic aid toward local publications so that those outlets can survive––and promote and protect democracy. Its president, Kyle Munson, also is a member of the Iowa Writers' Collaborative. https://www.westerniowajournalismfoundation.com/contact-us.
Chakrabarti urged her audience earlier this week to support local journalism. "We have the tools to preserve healthy public spaces for future generations," she said. "But we have a long way to go to devise tools to protect local journalism so that democracy also will survive in the future.
Asked by a student for advice about a career in journalism, Chakrabarti replied. "You'll never be rich. Ask yourself whether you love it." If so, she urged, "Focus on the local level, where you can see how your work matters.
Finding common ground at the local level
Unfortunately, what passes for news on social media today often exacerbates political and social economic divides. Our news has become nationalized, and one reason may be the dearth of local news. This leaves the national news (disliked by so many) to shape the local or state narratives of people, especially those who don't consume any other media to counterbalance it.
Local journalism offers a common denominator. During the worst of Covid, I was alarmed to see extreme partisanship spill over into a local newspaper column by a local contributor. I responded: "Words matter. Information must be grounded in facts, which lend support to opinions. Local newspapers provide a community service. They also offer a platform for disparate individual to unify. Those of us in rural communities have much in common, and during these chaotic times, it would be beneficial to focus on this."
Breitsprecher would agree. She told me, "I loved SO much the idea of 'giving back'; being a family business; opening an office downtown; all the amazing opportunities from being on the field at state football, track, wrestling to getting to meet the Presidential candidates up close and personal to celebrating milestones like birthdays and tball wins. The people (well, most of them). I also loved being a board member of the Iowa Newspaper Association--I learned so much and met so many great people. I miss that."
Not every small town can support its own newspaper. But we would all miss out if we let them disappear.
The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative
I’m delighted to be part of this group. Thank you for supporting this new effort to stem the rising tide of emerging news deserts.
You're welcome. I know that it goes a long way back in Atlantic, but a distant cousin was married to the newspaper editor (?) there. I will check on this sometime! Anyway, I'm glad that the Iowa Capital Dispatch is making its way there once in awhile, too. Darn, I forgot that you're writing a column. I'll try to remember that. Thanks again.
Oh, yes, that is hard to understand. It must narrow their world view so much. I would love to subscribe to even more, but I do have some time constraints!
!