Small Town Newspaper

Small Town Newspaper (11/16/2011) Imagine a world where no newspaper exists. Very soon we may live in such a time. Most people treasure newspapers as milestones of current events. For example, in my possession I have framed front page issues of The Chicago Tribune from November 23 and 24, 1963 detailing Kennedy and Oswald's assassinations. History books show pictures of Truman holding The Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1948 announcing his defeat to Dewey. Since the printing press was invented by Gutenberg around 1440, people have used shared printing to record history and news and this the newspaper has been the most popular daily diary of our world. Today, historians scour pages of black and white text to create the synopsis that becomes our history books. However these summaries are swayed by opinion and filter critical details. The average person typically keeps newspapers clippings; I have copies of my high school athletic feats, graduation announcement and other personal milestones. Most of us save birth, death and wedding announcements. In each of these cases without a local newspaper there would be no record. As I paged through last week's paper I read about school children, Council meetings, local sports, and crime. Arguably information is captured digitally via the Web and television, but only the small town newspaper remains accessible to everyone. A March 22, 2009 Time magazine article reported on a Pew Media analysis focusing on the question, “what happens when a town loses its newspaper?” For small towns the consensus seems to be one of indifference other than the loss of primary news sources via the “ecosystem” of local journalism feeding other outlets because only a small town newspaper provides the depth and diversity of local news. Unfortunately, newspapers are closing at an amazing rate, hundreds per year from major cities to the smallest towns. The brick and mortar business model is giving way to a low-cost digital media that many assert will ultimately replace print. As you page through this week’s paper take an extra moment to scrutinize each page, looking for particulars normally passed. For instance, read the crime blotter and note the detail forever saved to the historical record. Around the local section imagine looking back 50 years from now through an archive at the photos and current events of the day. While reading the editorial page’s letters and opinions picture future school children doing research on “The Great Recession” and compiling future history books from the non-digital account of today’s woe. I argue newspapers will always have a place in our world and remain the only reliable method to record history and present opinion. Support for our papers must start via circulation and supporting the advertisers. Patronize the businesses you see in print and let them know it was printed media dollars that brought you to their establishment. Let your editor know how columns impact you and take every opportunity available to contribute editorial content.