Scott Swanson
NOTE:The print edition of the Nov. 10 New Era features mostly blank space above the front-page “fold.” This commentary outlines the reasoning behind that design.
If you’re wondering why the top half of the fold on Page 1 is mostly white, let me explain.
No, it’s not an error (thankfully).
But it represents a problem that many Oregon newspapers really need to start communicating to their communities now: Not only has COVID badly affected many elements of our society; it’s having a dire effect on many of our nation’s newspapers, including in our state.
Many have reduced staff hours on the news side and some have cut reporters’ positions altogether.
Thankfully, The New Era has not had to do that. Local businesses and organizations have continued to use the newspaper to communicate with their community, which accounts for a sizable proportion of the income from advertising we use to produce your newspaper.
But all the stuff you may have heard about the impacts of social media siphoning off what used to be newspaper advertising dollars, Craiglist (classified advertisements), the impact of “vulture capitalists” who have squeezed newsrooms for every dollar possible and left formerly robust newspapers resembling, in some senses, the polyp victims of the wicked Ursula in “The Little Mermaid” – it’s not a figment of our imaginations.
The fact is, one in four newspapers published in the U.S. 15 years ago have shut down. That’s a scary thought when I think of what that means to their communities.
Many in our world may not or don’t care to realize what the demise of their local newspaper will mean. But it will mean a lot – especially, to anyone who wants to be aware of what’s going on around them other than what the latest drama is on their favorite TV star or what their No. 1 online influencer is up to.
That’s the point newspapers around the state are trying to make, and which we’ve decided to support by devoting our “top of the fold” to one question: “What if there were no local reporters?” What if the stories stop because the newspaper no longer exists?
That’s a question every citizen of our nation should contemplate. In many places, some 1,800 communities across America, you have “news deserts,” no longer covered by daily or nondaily newspapers.
The situation has gotten the attention of our representatives in Congress, who are considering a bill called the “Local Journalism Sustainability Act,” which was introduced in Congress this past summer and has drawn bipartisan support.
In a nutshell, the legislation would provide tax incentives for advertising in legitimate local media, as defined in the law, to help them survive these tumultuous times.
It’s intended to do so without making media beholden to the government, in the way nonprofits and churches that enjoy tax-benefit support from the government, are not (or don’t need to be).
Sure, there’s always the danger of inappropriate government meddling with the “fourth estate,” the “fourth branch of government,” as some have termed the role of the media in our democracy. But this is a lot safer than, say, government handing out checks. Newspapers, radio stations, TV stations and newer media that produce genuine local reporting still have to work for their support. It just might come a little easier.
Getting back to that Page 1 question, I have to ask whether I’m just a traditionalist or whether there really will be nasty outcomes if, say, this newspaper were to disappear. While I’d hope local government would maintain their integrity without reporters looking over their shoulders, some have not. And here’s an interesting fact: Researchers at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Illinois at Chicago reported a few years ago that they’d discovered that a municipality’s borrowing costs increase in statistically significant ways in “news deserts.”
That’s because when no one is minding the henhouse, lenders get nervous. They figure it could cost them, so they charge us, the taxpayers.
The Internet certainly offers alternatives for some of what newspapers provided when most of us over 40 were kids. You can get weather, sports scores, fashion news, business and investment information, and national news on a host of sites.
But if we think the emotion-, expletive- and superlative-laden hyperbolic language we see in “news reports” and “opinion” trotted out on social media reflect any sense of filtered objectivity, I might just go into the vacation paradise home sales business. That desert destination I’m selling can be an unbelievable, totally sensational experience that will have your entire social network just lusting after what I’ve got to show you.
OK, I’m getting carried away.
Seriously, though, if you don’t have a devoted newspaper reporter sitting in that school board meeting (see page 1 – below the fold) and delivering a straightforward, emotion-free report of what happened there, what are your alternatives?
For sure, you will likely lack coverage of subjects that are important but not necessarily commercial, such as local and state government, education, public utilities, law enforcement, land use and so on. Sure, these might not be as exciting as those Facebook or YouTube posts, but not having them will, guaranteed, bite you where it hurts some day.
If you’re concerned about all of this, you’re not alone. Many politicians, despite the irritation they sometimes feel with the media, know that if reporters don’t ask those questions, nobody will.
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) gets it: “Journalistic standards, local newspapers and broadcasters play a critical role in holding our elected officials accountable, shining a spotlight on important news and challenging the issues of our community to come to light.”
While your local news is produced by people who definitely aren’t perfect, it’s strategically as fair and accurate as we are capable of making it. While we may not be able to track down every Facebook rumor and we sometimes, especially in this COVID world, don’t get told things we probably should be able to tell you, local journalists give you a chance to be aware of what’s going on where you live, in your community and state. If they vanished, you’d likely know very little about what your local or state government is doing with your tax dollars – and your rights, or what’s really happening in local schools, sports, arts, etc.
So if any of this concerns you, consider emailing the congressional representatives listed on page 2, and tell them what you think about the importance of local news media to the citizens of Oregon.