We noticed some sad truths about our industry this weekend while attending the Oklahoma Press Association convention. We newshounds are aging and getting older every year.
There aren’t a lot of young people coming in, either. I believe that is because small towns are the heart’s blood of this work. And traditionally, young people don’t want to settle in small towns and remain there the rest of their lives, or even more than a few years.
Again, generally speaking, youngsters are far more interested in Internet based news platforms and creating online content. They aren’t in love with the smell of newsprint and ink. At least not yet.
I guess I understand it. I mean, who wants to kick around in dusty old offices in little, tiny towns where fun and games at the senior center is a story? Except me and other oldsters who have spent a lifetime doing it.
Even if they do fall in love with the thumpthump- thump of a press, there is not many remedies for shrinking ad revenues and declining readership.
But here is the saddest part. This is vitally important work. Maybe not covering the senior center game night but attending and reporting on the governmental meetings that are often akin to watching paint dry, mining the nuggets of public interest and delivering it to that public.
Not all public and elected officials are corrupt. But public scrutiny helps them avoid temptation and cling to the straight and narrow interest of the people when they are more aware they are being watched and if they step out of bounds are more likely to be caught.
But there is some hope on the horizon that the small-town newspaper won’t go the way of the passenger pigeon. Cooperatives and alliances are being formed that funnel money into this work. They fund newsrooms, mobile apps and other more modern news delivery systems. Old dogs are learning new tricks like TikTok and Instagram. Instead of hyper local newsrooms with one reporter, there are regional news hubs with multiple writers who may assist putting out multiple papers. Basically, they gang up on each town, put out its paper and move on to put out the paper – or whatever platform they operate on – for the next town. Kind of like old barn raisings, only with news. It also frees that one reporter from one town to keep up with social media posts in between editions.
The money for these enterprises are coming from non-profit news organizations like the Groundtruth Project, which founded Report for America to send journalists into underserved areas to dive into underreported topics.
No, these collaboratives aren’t the solution for this industry, but it is a step in the right direction. After all, AI isn’t going to show up at the local high school basketball game. Only someone with a heartbeat, a heart for the community, and boots on the ground can do that.
Editor’s note: an enormous thank you to all who took the time to congratulate us on our wins at the convention.