Introduction
Small-market newspapers constitute the majority of newspapers in the United States. What is it like to work at these publications? And what do journalists themselves identify as the fundamental challenges and opportunities for this sector?
We set out to answer these questions by asking local journalists at daily and weekly newspapers with circulations under 50,000 to tell us directly about their working lives. Of the 7,071 newspapers regularly published in the United States (daily and weekly), 6,851 have circulations smaller than this number.1
However, their experience is typically underrepresented in wider industry conversations.2. Our research seeks to redress that by providing a platform for discussion about the smaller market experience.
Through an online survey completed by 420 respondents across the United States we discovered a cohort, which describes itself as hardworking, optimistic about the future of its industry, and eager to know more about emerging digital tools for journalistic storytelling.
Despite cuts and job losses over the past decade, as a group our respondents were more upbeat about their future than perhaps might be expected. At the same time, local journalists remain aware of the significant challenges their sector faces. Respondents told us about issues in recruiting and retaining young journalists, the difficulty of establishing relationships with the next generation of local news consumers, and the wider challenge of overcoming general cynicism toward both the journalistic profession and the mainstream media.
These findings both confirmed and challenged our expectations. It’s our hope that this survey—and the wider paper we are producing in parallel to this report—can help ignite fresh discussion about the importance of local newspapers. In the process, we hope to provide pointers for further research, and to help stimulate debate about the future of this key component in our media and information ecosystem.