Local, Community newspapers are not dead

By Toni Walker

Editor

news@steelcountrybee.com

Everywhere you turn, it seems we are inundated with media. From our televisions and computers, to our smartphones and even our radios, there is some form of news that can be readily accessible. Then, you have the local, community newspaper. Many might say that newspapers are dead or dying. But I beg to differ, and so would others.

When you live in a small town like ours, the “local” news channels on television are based out of Tyler, Longview, or Shreveport, usually. Tell me: how much “local” news are the residents of Daingerfield, Hughes Springs, Avinger, and the surrounding area really going to get? Not a whole lot. Now, I understand that many people are traveling into these bigger areas to work and to shop, and these news stations provide a great service in times of dangerous weather. But to really get the meat of the news from our little towns, local papers are more valuable.

One of the country’s most wellknown businessmen and philanthropists, Warren Buffett believes that local community newspapers still play a vital role in their communities. Buffett, whose company, Berkshire Hathaway, recently acquired 28 daily newspapers for $344 million, recently released his shareholder letter. In it, he explained his reasoning behind the purchase.

“Newspapers continue to reign supreme, however, in the delivery of local news. If you want to know what’s going on in your town – whether the news is about the mayor or taxes or high school football – there is no substitute for a local newspaper that is doing its job. A reader’s eyes may glaze over after they take in a couple of paragraphs about Canadian tariffs or political developments in Pakistan; a story about the reader himself or his neighbors will be read to the end. Wherever there is a pervasive sense of community, a paper that serves the special informational needs of that community will remain indispensable to a significant portion of its residents,“ Buffett said in an excerpt from that shareholder’s letter.

Local, community newspapers, whether they are a daily or weekly paper, offer a service to the communities they are in. The only way, from my perspective, which community newspapers will die out, is if their community does not support them. Help us help you. We work to bring information and news to the readership in our towns. When we cannot even find support from a given community, how can we continue using our resources to cover that area?