The vital role of the newspaper

The demise of newspapers has been widely covered in all media, but especially, ironically, by newspapers themselves. Readers are reportedly disappearing, using cable (more than network) TV news, radio or the Internet to obtain any information they believe they need to understand the world around them.

Yet, just this weekend, an area resident shared with this writer that one part of the day he truly treasures is the morning, when he arises, pours himself a cup of coffee and reads the Hartford Courant for an hour. With the news of cutbacks in staff and coverage at the Courant, one hopes those still employed there take some comfort in knowing there are many in the state who agree with this reader.

Because, really, it can become tiresome to hear the talking heads of cable news speculate about the ins and outs of the presidential campaigns or the plans of the current administration as it faces its denouement. And we need a break from the political blogs and news of the wide world we can easily find online. Sometimes we just want to know what’s happening in a 100-mile radius, and we won’t find that area coverage in the same kind of depth and variety on TV or Internet news.

Even with the cutbacks at daily newspapers, these organizations still have more on-the-ground staff than other kinds of media, and still cover a wider range of topics with greater institutional knowledge and insight. This is what some of us who read, and can still find the less than a dollar a day it costs to take in a daily paper, still value.

Case in point: In Monday’s Hartford Courant, one could read in-depth reports by Courant staff writers about erosion along the Connecticut River, and homeowners who are affected by it; thieves who steal any kind of metal to turn in for cash at scrapyards; a newly formed group of young, religious conservatives in Connecticut; a new road-sealing process used in Old Saybrook to create a rustic, dirt-road appearance; the dangers of paint ball, focusing on a 15-year-old from Portland who suffered an eye injury while playing; and the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority’s new recycling program. It would be a shame to have missed the piece by Connecticut Associated Press reporter, Stephanie Reitz, on the new Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary and the words therein. This was just Monday, and just the first two sections. It’s a slow time for state politics right now, with the General Assembly done with its short session, but these writers find plenty to write about that interests them and their readers.

That said, it could well be that daily newspapers will have to change dramatically their business models and staffing structure. All businesses have to change, even those that serve the public interest, as newspapers do. Most daily newspapers aren’t losing money, but rather making fewer profits. There is room for growth in an industry that is all about communication and information. Those defining the new path just have to be creative and flexible in solving the problems they are facing.

For weekly newspapers, on the other hand, there was no huge increase in revenues during the 1990s and early 2000s, which the dailies experienced. Just a steady stream of support from readers and advertisers who care about an even smaller geographic radius, the one in which they live and are raising their families or where they grew up and still have family and friends. Community weekly newspapers, like the one you are reading, play a unique role in people’s hearts and minds, and occupy a special place on the coffee table, where they often stay all week.

What is the advantage of a hyper-local approach to journalism? A community weekly newspaper provides singularly in-depth coverage of our towns, our schools, governments, cultural riches, recreational opportunities and regional sports, in a delivery system that keeps it all at hand when you are ready to take it all in, whether in print or online. We who live here believe our lives are worthy of notice. This newspaper will try to notice anything and report everything that might interest you, our readers.

The reasons to remain here and appreciate what we have here are also the reasons a small newspaper group like ours may just be able to survive what the dailies are suffering from. But let’s hope the dailies can survive as well, even if in a different form. Our society needs and benefits from their particular kind of scrutiny.