March 29, 2024

Newspapers still aren't dying

Have you heard that newspapers are dying?

Me too. Almost every time I mention my career to people — strangers, friends and family. It can be a bit awkward.

While there have certainly been challenges for the newspaper industry, the death of newspapers rumor is unfounded, especially for the community papers I have worked for. Yes, a handful of large metropolitan newspapers have gone out of business, and others are really struggling. For the most part, community newspapers are doing just fine, thank you very much.

This is one of the inevitable topics that comes up when you attend a newspaper conference, which is where I spent a few days last week.

More than 60 newspaper professionals from across the country attended the Institute of Newspaper Technology at the University of Tennessee, bringing with us a desire to learn more about our trade and enjoy some camaraderie in the process.

Now, I find traveling by airplane just about as desirable as scrubbing toilets, so I wasn’t exactly pumped about a trip to Knoxville, Tenn. However, the reputation of the institute won me over, and as it turns out Knoxville is a pretty great city, y’all.

The three-day newspaper institute has been highly successful in bringing together leading experts in the industry and professionals looking for quality training the past 18 years.

A lot of the classes wouldn’t excite most people — tips and tricks for using publishing software, overviews of different apps and technology and best practices for newspaper design. Contrastly, it’s a dream come true for any newspaper professional, especially one who has been out of college for a while.

Of course while this group of professionals gathered for class, our immanent death loomed — mostly as a joke — but certainly came up as a topic. I don’t think it was inappropriate that once we were all together we would take a quick check of our pulse.

I think we were all relieved, and not at all surprised when the director of the institute, who does intense research on the topic, said we’re in good shape. Publishers are reporting a good year and most are optimistic about the future.

The funny thing about the rumor is that, if you take a look, the newspaper business has always been in trouble — various new technologies would lead to our demise. There was radio, television and then there was the Internet. I don’t imagine it’s any coincidence that these three entities are often pushing the newspapers are dying rumor, while at the same time ripping off our content.

To me, community newspapers will always be relevant, though we may not stay exactly the same. I don’t know what companies haven’t changed with technology.

Sometimes, I come across folks who tell me they don’t read the newspaper and seem particularly proud of it. To me, it’s kind of like bragging about being uniformed and unengaged in your community. I just can’t even fathom it.

I believe community is pretty darn important — from our local governments to our sports and every single person in between. And what we get to do every day is gather up all of that information, tell your stories, and present it to you in the best way we know how.
There simply isn't another product with that kind of value.

Hanging out with other newspaper professionals gets me excited about what we do. Besides, it’s almost always exciting to reaffirm that you’re not dying.

Contact Editor Abigail Pelzer at (641) 792-3121 Ext. 6530 or apelzer@newtondailynews.com.