Local papers are reducing staff and publishing less frequently as the already-battered businesses try to weather the covid-19 storm. Many either won't survive or will have to drastically curtail their operations.
The late Elmo Smith and his wife borrowed $25 in 1933 to start a mimeographed weekly newspaper along Oregon's Snake River, near the Idaho border.
The business grew into a chain of publications -- chronicling local events through the Depression, Smith becoming Oregon's governor, and a gas leak in the '70s that destroyed one of the company's printing presses -- all under the family's ownership. Until this week.
Elmo's son, former Congressman Denny Smith, sold off the publications after years of seeing the internet and social media eclipse local outlets. Covid-19 was a final blow. The papers will continue under the ownership of publisher Chelsea Marr, but the move brought layoffs and uncertainty about how the chain will operate in the future.
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"I'm aware of weekly newspapers that have shut down completely," said Dean Ridings, chief executive officer of America's Newspapers, a national trade association. "Some have gone to a digital presence only. Some are changing print frequency to twice a week."
Advertising dollars have become even more scarce now that companies are conserving cash and nonessential retail is largely shuttered.
"I'm hearing 40% to 60% drops in revenue over the last 30 days," Ridings said. "The advertisers are the local mom-and-pops, the retailers, the restaurants, who are understandably canceling their advertisements."
That broader crisis will eventually pass, but the changes that newspapers make now will probably be permanent, said media analyst Ken Doctor. A paper that drops print days is never going to add them back later, he said.
The largest U.S. newspaper chain, Gannett Co., is suffering alongside the smaller outlets. It said this week that it's slashing jobs and furloughing workers to cope with covid-19. The company, which owns USA Today and hundreds of local news outlets, also is suspending its dividend and selling real estate to pay down debt.
Gannett, which merged last year with New Media Investment Group Inc., was already tightening its belt. But it wouldn't have reached this point without the coronavirus crisis, Ridings said.
"This pandemic has done more than accelerate -- it has changed the dynamic significantly," he said. Newsroom cuts are especially troubling during a pandemic because local communities need news more than ever -- a point Smith made when he sold his newspapers this week.
"As our communities work their way through covid-19, local news organizations will continue to play a vital role in providing factual and timely information," he said.
If local papers are pushed to the brink, the virus's legacy will be felt long after the crisis is over. In many places, the hometown paper is irreplaceable, Ridings said.
"Whether it's the watchdog to cover the city council, or the school board, or even the Little League, the newspaper was the last remaining source for local information," he said.
A Section on 04/05/2020