Post contributed by Bethany Braden
How people learn about their local community: The role of newspapers, Pew Internet & American Life report
BJB forgot to add title - now fixed
The recent state of the media report mentioned that media revenue for daily papers is down, but there’s some good news for weekly papers. In the Feb. 2012 issue of Quill, one of the features is about the Community Current newspaper in St. John Washington. The paper comes out roughly every month, and subscriptions cost less than $20. The paper is staying above water.
The Current makes it work by practicing hyper local journalism, and they have been profitable each of the 18 years it has been in print. How can this be in a world where it is predicted newspapers are wheezing their last breaths? It turns out, according to a Pew study, newspapers “play a far more complex role in the civic life of communities than many people believe.”
The Pew study revealed that the local paper is where many adults go to get information on jobs, real estate, obituaries, local politics, government affairs, taxes and other civic issues. The problem, the study alleges, is that only a tiny segment of the population care about these issues.
This brings me to a few other points:
The Pew study revealed that the local paper is where many adults go to get information on jobs, real estate, obituaries, local politics, government affairs, taxes and other civic issues. The problem, the study alleges, is that only a tiny segment of the population care about these issues.
This brings me to a few other points:
· Interest in these issues must be taught. Nobody gets up one day and says “I’d really like to know what’s going on with the government.” Children must be taught from the time they’re young that local affairs are important to us as well as to the next generation. This is a societal issue that has very little to do with economics, but an issue to address.
· For those of us who want to find a job working with newspapers, these statistics provide an interesting perspective against the doom and gloom of hearing how newspapers are dying. The key, it seems, is that anybody searching for a newspaper job should seriously consider taking a position in a tiny little town to start with. Working hard in a small town will further equip you to report for bigger papers later….and if there are no bigger papers to work with later, you have had the writing experience to adapt to an online job.
BJB forgot to add title - now fixed