Philadelphia Weekly

It's a tough time for newspapers. Can small locals thrive where big metros are stumbling?

Photo by Flickr user just.Luc, used under a Creative Commons license.

It’s not just the major metropolitan dailies across the country that have concerns about their future. Your local community newspaper is also struggling with its survival.

The Northeast News Gleaner, Olney Times, Germantown Courier, and Mount Airy Times Express were closed in February by their corporate owner, the Journal Register Company. At one time, the Journal Register owned 325 weekly papers, but that number is down to approximately 151.

One of the survivors in the Journal Register chain is Montgomery Newspapers, a group that includes local suburban papers such as the Ambler Gazette, Springfield Sun, Glenside News, and Times-Chronicle. Mike Morsch, the executive editor of Montgomery Newspapers, notes that circulation for the group's 15 newspapers has dropped from around 48,000 in 2003 to around 32,000 in 2009. The ailments are familiar to observers of the metro newspaper scene.

“The main reason for our circulation decline is that our readers have gotten older and we haven’t done a good job of attracting new readers," Morsch says. "It’s hard to get young people to pick up a paper. When I speak at Hatboro-Horsham High School and ask the students how many of them read the paper, the answer is zero. When I go to speak at a local nursing home, all of the retirees are reading the paper.”

But Morsch says his reporters are figuring out that the web can be an ally -- instead of waiting a week to report breaking news, as would've been the case in the past, his local journalists are starting to think in daily terms.

“We can deliver news immediately instead of waiting until the next week’s print version," he says. "For instance, with the swim club story (about the club accused of kicking out black swimmers) we could write stories three or four days before our print edition. We can get news out sooner.”

Morsch and other suburban journalists say their small size may be an advantage. Reporters for the Ambler Gazette will cover local school board meetings, zoning board meetings and high school sports with the depth that major metro papers can’t and won't duplicate.

“The unique thing that we offer is local coverage," says Bill Kenny, a long-time reporter for the Northeast Times. "No one has been able to duplicate or surpass the depth of local coverage and issues. We cover civic associations and neighborhood issues that tend to be overlooked or not covered as extensively by citywide media due to limited resources, capacity, and manpower.”

Morsch adds: “The strengths of local papers are their connection to the community. They also have longevity and credibility; the Ambler Gazette has been in existence for over 125 years. Readers have grown up with us and we’re a trusted source. People want to know what’s going on in the community and that’s what we deliver.”

Kenny notes that even though the Northeast Times has only four full time reporters, it is still able to put out at least 128-page editions every week. A major reason for this is local advertising. Local businesses choose to advertise in local community papers because they will reach potential customers who live and shop nearby.

“Our model is small. We have a bare-bones staff. We’re able to extract ad revenue from local businesses," he says. "Major papers like the Inquirer’s Neighbors section couldn’t compete with local papers. ... It’s a strength of ours. Local folks see the value of advertising in our paper, so we’ll be able to survive. We have minimal overhead and a personal, one on one connection."

Despite all the challenges, Kenny is confident that the Northeast Times will be around for many years to come.

“Absolutely, we’ll exist in 10, 20 years," he says. "You have to be optimistic. If you’re pessimistic, you might as well pack it in. You have to adapt to the economic environment and emerging technology. We’ve been around for 70 years. There have been down economic cycles since then. We survived TV and the Internet; we’ll survive, endure and prosper in the future.”

Presumably, this is what journalists at the Germantown Courier and Olney Times were telling themselves at this point last year. But Morsch is likewise confident that his local papers will survive.

“Local newspapers will exist in some form, although it might not be in print," he says. "There will always be interesting local stories to tell, and community papers can tell them better than anyone else. We need to make adjustments as to technology and how to do business, but local news will always exist.”

Larry Atkins teaches journalism at Temple University and Arcadia University.