One paper's circulation drop raises some community journalism questions

I think you might find this post on my Common Sense Journalism blog about the precipitous drop in the circulation of The (Columbia, S.C.) State to be of interest.

At the end, I raise some questions it poses for community journalism in the digital age, especially in smaller and midsized cities.

Al Jazeera: In small towns with local investment, print journalism thrives

A good look at the realities -- and hope -- of community journalism from Maryville, Mo.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/29/newspapers-localownership.html

Warren Buffett's investment in community newspapers

It was hard not to see Berkshire Hathaway's purchase of most of Media General's newspapers as an investment by Warren Buffett in community journalism. The Oracle of Omaha made his views of community newspapers more or less a matter of record with a May 23 memo to the editors and publishers of his company's new newspapers: http://irjci.blogspot.com/2012/05/warren-buffett-seems-bully-on-community.html

Also, the new(ish) book by COMJIG members Bill Reader and John Hatcher, Foundations of Community Journalism, received a nice plug in Buffett's hometown paper in a short interview with Reader about the sale: http://www.omaha.com/article/20120520/MONEY/705209948 

Let's hope the hype proves true for our colleagues working at those papers.

Will print be dead by 2020?

Russell Viers contends much of print will be dead by 2020 - and he's making the argument aimed at community papers, not the big metros. Interesting debate at his blog with Kevin Slimp and others. Worth considering the graphs.

All paid up?

As community papers struggle to stay afloat, one media organization has an idea for its holdings. Thoughts?

http://paidcontent.org/article/419-medianews-group-adds-paywalls-to-23-more-newspapers/

Smaller-market publishers show less confidence

A little late discovering this, but a survey released at the end of October by Cribb Greene & Associates found dropping numbers among mid- and small-market newspaper execs when it comes to their papers' expected financial performance.

The survey still found that of the 239 executives surveyed, 51 percent think advertising revenue will be up in the coming year. But that's down from 71 percent in the spring survey.

And then there was this:

Respondents were less optimistic in answering the question "Would you recommend the newspaper business as a career for your children?" This litmus test question last spring produced 39% "yes" responses, which has decreased to 31% in the current Survey.

The site has a link to a more complete PDF of the survey. A pullout box on the right side of the post with participants' comments is also worth reading.

COMJIG panel gets lengthy story in AEJMC news

Our panel on "Community Newspapers: Healthy for Now, but for How Long?" got a nice story in the AEJMC News, the student-run newspaper from last week's convention in Denver.

A shorter earlier story also covered our "Media Ethics in My Little Town" panel.

For a full rundown of convention stories, especially those who could not be there, see AEJMCnews.net.

Mutter finds outllok for community papers mixed

Alan Mutter, the "Newsosaur," digs into the outlook for community newspapers and finds that while things are better than their big-city brethren, there are some serious caution areas on the horizon.

Among them:

• A readership that is aging faster than metro areas
• Over-dependence on fewer advertisers
• Need to invest in more compelling content and innovative ad platforms
  

AP: Community papers doing pretty well

AP is the latest to weigh in on the meme that community papers, with less competition in their markets, are still doing pretty well.

"CNN is not coming to my town to cover the news and there aren't a whole lot of bloggers here either," said Robert M. Williams Jr., editor and publisher of The Blackshear Times in Georgia, about 75 miles from Jacksonville, Fla. "Community newspapers are still a great investment because we provide something you can't get anywhere else."

The AP also says that while larger newsrooms were cutting, an Inland Press study found smaller newsrooms spending more in 2008 than 2004.

But the recession has still hurt, with the small papers' revenue down 20%.

Jeff Ackerman, publisher of The Union in Grass Valley, Calif., says it well:

"Too many newspapers have been operating in an ivory tower for too long," said Ackerman, whose newspaper is based in a county with a population of about 100,000. "I answer my own phone. Some newspapers are just now trying to develop relationships with the local communities they cover. Ours has been going on for 144 years."