Small-town Newspapers Matter
As the future of print newspapers becomes less obscure as technologies advance in the area of news reporting, the Enterprise recently visited with several rural and small-town newspapers to check in on how things are looking for the future of hometown newspapers.
The general consensus is as long as there are readers interested in what’s going on in the community, and are willing to purchase a paper, the newspapers will be around. Although it is a simple answer there is a lot more to what keeps a small-town newspaper afloat financially.
According to Jeanette Miller Co-publisher and editor of the Electra Star News based out of Electra Texas, a good deal of income for the Electra Star comes from legal ads that must be placed by local government according to the law. That could change in the future as new legislation is trying to make its way through the capital to repeal the law requiring local government from having to print legal notices in the newspaper. Currently the Texas Press Association is heading the front to oppose the repeal.
Miller, of the Electra Star, says they are still receiving ads from one of Electra’s remaining businesses, the hospital, and along with other smaller ads that help keep the lights on at the Electra Star. Miller says the paper is over 100 years old and that the paper is at its smallest staff since they opened. The local papers are closely tied to the schools from the town they serve. Up to half the news in the local paper can be compromised of school functions such as sports, band concerts or academic activities along with the local FFA. It could almost be considered a synergy of information. The school activities feed the paper interesting stories of the youth while the paper feeds the town information on the activities the youth is involved in.
There is a great deal more than just schools being reported on and most small-town newspapers are taking the positive approach to reporting local stories and shying away from negative stories that can been read or seen in just about every big city news station or paper.
Miller closed the interview by saying that Electra has a lot to of fer. Electra has a great library and a great school. Miller says they have been renovating the local theater, “The Grande” and hopes to have a film festival in the future.
Matt Gwinn of the Baylor County News based out of Seymour Texas says that he and his wife Suzette have owned the Banner since 1999. Before taking over the paper the Gwinn’s both worked at the Banner for Matt’s uncle Earl who bought the paper with a partner in the early 60s. The partner later passed away and Earl took over as sole proprietor of the Banner. The Banner is more than 120 years old and still going strong thanks to the community ties. Gwinn says the paper has gone down somewhat and that Facebook and social media has taken some of the thunder away from the newspaper. By that, he means that information and news is almost instantly shared on social media these days. Gwinn says that he believes the newspaper still has the most credibility. Gwinn says you have to live in the place where you are gathering and reporting the news. Gwinn says he tells the community that it is their paper too and counts on regular visits from locals to let him know what is happening in the town.
Gwinn says he was a little apprehensive to go online with the paper but so far it has been a good experience. Gwinn says it helps with out of town subscribers. Just as many other rural and small-town newspapers, the Baylor County Banner still relies on local businesses to place ads to keep the Banner afloat. Like most other rural papers, the Banner is closely tied to the school. Gwinn says the school activities account for about 50 percent of the content in the Banner. He closed by saying that the paper has way more credibility then what you might find on social media and the reason is that the they are a part of the community and people from the community trust them.
Barbara Phillips with the Archer County News provided insight about how a rural hometown newspaper has handled the transition from print to online media. She also discussed how they are running things during Covid-19.
Phillips said, “During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, all our big retail advertising was pulled, which really hurt our cash flow. Now that things are loosening up a bit, we are getting some of that back. Legal and public notices have helped, but it has been tough. Hopefully, things will begin to improve.” She continued, “This has not stopped us from reporting the stories of Archer County, which is our mission. I do believe that small rural papers are extremely important in getting vital information to the readers. However, things change so quickly day to day, so it is sometimes hard to keep abreast of the latest statistical information on COVID-19.”
Regarding online papers Phillips said, “For years, we have always offered an online version to our print subscribers and an on-line only subscription to those who prefer the computer only. Actually, the demand for online access has increased, but as of now, we have many people--especially the older generation--that want that paper in their hands and do not even have a computer.”
The Olney Enterprise is no different than most other small town or rural newspapers in that we are closely tied to the community. Many people forget that newspapers in rural communities are small businesses as well and count on the community they serve for their support. The Enterprise is more fortunate than most in that Olney has several manufacturing companies and other small businesses that really help support, not only the community, but the local newspaper as well. Not all rural towns have big business to help keep the community financially strong.
The Olney Enterprise is strongly committed to providing positive stories, not only about the community it serves, but also the good news of Jesus as well. It is a faith-based business with a good mixture of devotionals, community stories and school activities, the Enterprise is living up to its commitment to be a positive influence.
Although no one knows what the future holds for small town newspapers what is clear is the people who run them pour their hearts into the papers each week to make sure small towns for whom they serve have and will always have interesting local stories to read each week to keep their community connected.