Newspapers remain reliable source of local news

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

This week, the first week of October, is National Newspaper Week. Each year at this time we pause to reflect on the importance of the news- paper in our daily lives. And rest assured the print newspaper has a definite value. It’s the one source of news that’s compiled just for you, tailored to where you live, emphasizing the things that affect you, keeping track of the people and events in your community.

Your newspaper staff is there at your city hall, at your local police and fire

department, at your city council meeting. As Ron Dzwonkowski, associate editor for the Detroit Free Press, said, “It will be where you can’t, paying attention, keeping watch, asking questions, making the record public.”

A few years ago, many predicted that TV and radio would lead to the death of newspapers. For about a generation now, the Internet has supposedly been driving newspapers into extinction. In today’s economy, as all businesses strive to keep costs in line with rev-

enue, it’s true that some of the larger newspapers are struggling to stay alive. Some are printing more infrequently. Others are shrinking content and laying off personnel. But the local com- munity newspaper has consistently weathered the storm and remained a fixture in our everyday lives.

Technology has transformed how we gather information in the 21st century. Tablets and lap- tops are getting smaller and smart phones keep getting smarter. We can get our national news on cable television, catch the weather on local broadcast stations, listen to talk radio on the FM or AM dial and follow our favorite blogs on the Internet. But when we’re looking for local information that directly impacts our daily lives, we turn, more often than not, to our local newspaper.

Unlike websites and bloggers, newspapers are fixtures in their communities. Most of them were around long before personal computers and smart phone apps, chronicling life, dissecting trends and exposing situations that needed to be brought to light. The major news blogs are great at offering major na- tional and international news and analysis but they simply do not provide the informa- tion on issues that impact us at the local level.

U.S. Representative Mike Rogers points out that this is especially true for the elderly and those with low incomes who often have less access to computers and transportation. Newspapers reach more than 100 million adults, nearly 6 in 10 of the U.S.adult Internet population, during a typical month. According to American Opinion Research, they are the number one source for local/community news. Newspapers deliver an ongoing information stream, so that if one person misses a property rezoning an- nouncement, others can alert them that a nearby wooded lot could become an adult video store. And you can take them wherever you’re going without worrying about battery life or Wi-Fi connections.

In an era where anyone can say anything and call it news, it is newspaper content that consistently gets it right and keeps it in context. Unlike less-established media, their newsrooms operate with standards and ethics intended to insure the credibility of the information they deliver. Newspapers don’t just make the record; they protect it too. “We offer clarity and perspective, and we provide content that our readers can trust,” says Caroline Little, president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America.

Finally, newspapers become like personal friends. They are at the heart of the community, generating the information and tracking the local developments that are vital for informed, involved citizens. We come to rely on them being there in our mail box, on our porch, in the rack at the convenience store. Communities feel a sense of ownership in their local newspaper and the people who report the news are often our friends and neighbors down the street. Newspapers are there for us and they will continue to be there for us in the foreseeable future.

Susan Holland, who works for the Westside Eagle Ob- server, is a lifelong resident of Benton County.