Current Events: Local Newspaper Closures

“Newspaper and tea” by Matt Callow is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

“The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

– Thomas Jefferson, 1787

The Mail Tribune publisher and CEO Steven Saslow announced that its newspaper would be closing operations on Friday, January 13, 2023. The Mail Tribune, based out of Medford, Oregon, can trace its beginnings back to 1906; it covered southern Oregon and other news for over 100 years. Saslow noted that declines in advertising revenue, and difficulty hiring staff, contributed to the decision to shut down the paper’s operations. The Mail Tribune’s recent shutdown is not a novel story in today’s current local media landscape. According to a Northwestern University report, an excess of 2,500 of the U.S.’s newspapers have closed since 2005. In addition to routine and numerous newspaper closures, the industry has seen papers dramatically reduce their staff and in turn, their coverage of particular news items.

The nationwide closures of local newspapers means that more communities are without journalists and media outlets covering the topics directly affecting their lives. The Director of the Agora Journalism Center at the University of Oregon notes that “…closures of news outlets are felt particularly acutely in less populated, rural communities… It often results in a rise in political corruption, in polarization, in disengagement and loss of community connection.” The Director’s comments mirror findings by business professors from the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Notre Dame who studied community expenditures and found that counties that had lost newspapers ended up paying higher interest rates on things such as bond issues, and these same communities experienced an increase in government inefficiencies. Similar studies have found that voter participation declined in local elections once a newspaper closes in a community.

Findings in 2011 from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) noted that newspapers are the best medium to provide the public service journalism, which includes highlighting the major issues confronting communities. The FCC stated that newspapers give residents the information they need to solve their problems. The FCC’s findings underscore the news media’s perceived role as the ‘fourth estate’, or the watchdog entity tasked with serving as a vital check on power of those holding elected office and other influential public and private figures. The importance of this role, some believe, is why the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution, in part reads “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom… of the press”.

This week’s Current Events resources examine the role local newspaper and new media plays in communities and civic life. The resources shared provide information and context regarding newspapers, journalism, the freedom of the press in the United States, and the current media environment in the United States.

Essential Questions, Vocabulary & Extend the Resources:

How does the U.S. Constitution address freedom of the press?
What is meant by ‘the fourth estate’?
What is a “news desert”, and how may they affect citizens who happen to live in one?
How has the U.S. Supreme Court helped shape the parameters of which the press may operate under the law?
Why is a free and comprehensive press essential for self-government?
What are some interventions communities, governments, and businesses are trying to ensure local media continues to exist? Are these efforts yielding the intended results?
In your opinion, what role should citizens, governments, and businesses play in local news media?
In your opinion, how vital, if at all, is local media to exist in a community?

Click here for a hardcopy of the Essential Questions and News & Media Vocabulary

Click here for a hardcopy of Extension Activities CLP suggests implementing with this content