In Cassville, Missouri, a town of about 3,000 people, newspaper publisher Kyle Troutman had heard that a well-connected local businessman was holding a public meeting to talk about crime and drug issues in the town.
Troutman and his wife, Jordan, own the Cassville Democrat newspaper, whose motto is “Covering Barry County, Missouri like the morning dew since 1871.” The Troutmans quickly arranged to livestream the businessman’s meeting on the newspaper’s Facebook page.
“That post had over 25,000 reach on Facebook,” Kyle Troutman said in an interview. Barry County has a population of about 35,000.
The Troutmans proved the value to small-town newspaper people of paying attention and knowing what’s going on in their community.
Small-town newspaper editors around the country – many of whom are overseeing their publications in their second or third century – who were interviewed for this article cite widely varying practices that have helped their publications, online and in print, stay relevant and stay in business.
On one thing they all agree: the fate of small towns and their newspapers are inextricably linked and their prosperity is mutual – or not at all.
It’s no secret that the newspaper industry – and for the purposes of this article, I’m referring to both print and online permutations – has struggled for a couple of decades. Advertising migrated to places like Craigslist and online classifieds; auto dealerships started advertising and selling on their own websites; Facebook and Google took a large share of advertising sales; newspaper subscriptions dwindled even as newspaper companies couldn’t figure out how to reach readers and advertisers; and newspaper companies, which had long put wealth in the pockets of their owners and paid their reporters relatively poorly, chased profits to please shareholders, cutting budgets and staff.
More recently, the differences between small news operations and large metropolitan newspapers – and chains for that matter – have become less pronounced, as all found themselves struggling to find a way forward.
An Ongoing Process
For Jeremy Waltner, publisher of the Freeman (South Dakota) Courier , that means wrestling with changes to the newspaper his father purchased in 1984 and that he purchased in 2016.
“I’m facing a crossroads here, balancing print and online,” Waltner told the Daily Yonder in an interview. “I’m seriously considering a reduction in print frequency.” Should he transform his weekly print publication to a monthly, with increased quality and even more online features?
If so, how will his usually supportive subscribers in this town of 1,400, in an area of 4,100, react?
“People are not going to pay good money for bad journalism. …You’ve got to give them a reason to buy the newspaper.”
Al Cross, director emeritus of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues
One thing’s for certain: newspapers must maintain or improve their quality, said Al Cross, director emeritus of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky. That means, among other things, for print newspapers, a better grade of paper and more of a magazine feel.
“People are not going to pay good money for bad journalism,” Cross said. “For a lot of people, it’s the only journalism they’ve got. That will fade away as rural communities become bedroom communities (to larger cities).
“You’ve got to give them a reason to buy the newspaper.”
Quality or Quantity?
The downturn in newspapers around the country has itself been in the headlines in recent years. While larger metropolitan news operations have closed and lost staffers, many of the papers affected are smaller newspapers and weekly newspapers. In August, PBS News Hour reported, “Across the country, over the past two decades, more than 2,200 weekly newspapers have closed down. And tens of thousands of reporters have been laid off. And researchers say that not only has profound effects on the practice of journalism, but also on the country’s civic health.”
The State of Local News 2022 report from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism “found that two newspapers close down every week on average,” as reported by the Daily Yonder.
New journalism models, including news operations run by non-profit organizations, have been explored, but many small newspapers are on their own, relying on their inventiveness and their communities to stay afloat.
Some figures in journalism are not optimistic.
“The entire industry has a bleak future,” said Dan Wehmer, owner and publisher of the Webster County Citizen in Seymour, Missouri. The weekly newspaper has been published since 1907.
“Everybody is doing everything they can and there is no stylebook for the future of the industry. It is the wild west out there. For me, that is exhilarating and terrifying.”
Jeremy Waltner, publisher of the Freeman (South Dakota) Courier
Wehmer, who was inducted into the Missouri Press Hall of Fame in August, said he’s confident of his own newspaper’s future. “I’m making money. I’m not singing the blues.” But he said he believes local journalism has been “destroyed” by corporate ownership and companies whose only allegiance is to their stockholders.
Cross, the rural journalism expert, noted that there are “lots of definitions for rural. A town of 40,000 is very much unlike towns of 2,000. One good defining characteristic of a non-metropolitan market: There is no local TV newsroom, or a reporter running a bureau of a TV station.”
The lack of local newsgathering competition can help small-town newspapers, Cross said, but newspapers find challenges nevertheless: “We’re seeing a continuing decline in quantity and quality of newspapers, and sometimes I think the quality problem is worse than quantity.
“Newspapers are getting smaller in terms of staff and original content because they don’t have the time on task and staff to produce that content. It means less local news gets covered.”
Cross offered what might be considered an unusual reason for the struggles of small newspapers.
“Donald Trump and social media made conversations about what was going on nationally more compelling than what was going on locally,” Cross said. “People have less time, thanks in part to reading all about it on social media, to participate in their geographic community.”
What’s Tough for Newspapers Right Now?
Small-town newspaper publishers have struggled with what might seem like unexpected cost increases and revenue shortfalls.
Waltner cited the increasing cost of postage. His newspaper, like other small-town papers, relies on newsstand sales and mail delivery. “I might tell readers that instead of $100 for the annual subscription, I’ll ask you to pay $150 because of postage. That’s something tangible.”
“Postage increases are nothing short of ridiculous,” Wehmer agreed. He noted that newspapers are also working their way back from the loss of advertising revenue. “Larger grocery stores don’t run inserts, and that was bread and butter for us. The same with car lots. Now they do it online. We’ve had to replace that revenue.
“The challenge this industry is facing right now is there is no model,” Waltner said. “Everybody is doing everything they can and there is no stylebook for the future of the industry. It is the wild west out there. For me, that is exhilarating and terrifying.
“The model being used in the newspaper industry today is the same model developed after the Revolutionary War. What other industry is using the same model for 150 or 250 years?”
Small-Town Success Stories
What’s working for small newspaper publishers?
In Seymour, Missouri, Wehmer says deep and long-lasting connections to the community are vital. “These families (with strong local newspapers) are rooted in the communities they served. The ones that have remained family-owned have thrived.”
Wehmer is also relying on other types of publishing to keep his business buoyant. “I do a lot of job printing. It’s almost half of my gross. Business cards, envelopes, small-scale book publishing.”
“The model being used in the newspaper industry today is the same model developed after the Revolutionary War. What other industry is using the same model for 150 or 250 years?”
Dan Wehmer, owner and publisher of the Webster County Citizen in Seymour, Missouri
In Freeman, South Dakota, “Location is in our favor,” said Waltner. “We’re about 45 minutes from three major cities, far enough to be our own independent community. … I’ve got a strong product, a great reputation, and a great relationship with our advertisers.”
Waltner, who was considering reducing the frequency of his print publications, had two years ago moved to a “pay what you want model,” he said. Subscribers almost uniformly paid more than they would have paid through a straightforward subscription model.
In Cassville, Missouri, the Troutmans – besides building awareness of the Cassville Democrat by live-streaming talked-about events – came up with a special section sure to appeal to young people and their parents: Fifteen under 15: Kids who are all-stars.
Like most of the small-town newspaper people in this article, the Cassville Democrat runs on a very small staff. Kyle Troutman writes as many as a dozen news and sports stories each week.
“We’re very proud of what we’re doing,” Jordan Troutman said. “This is our community.”
Cross returned to the importance of innovation for small-town newspapers. To survive, newspapers “have to show a willingness to adopt a new business model that includes more revenue from the audience, donations, memberships and subscriptions to an email newsletter.
“The poorer newspapers will gradually fade away. More rural publishers will have to adapt to digital and make sure their product is worth paying for.”
Waltner said that if he decides to reduce his print editions, he’ll tell his subscribers that he’ll give them more online content, more stories, newsletters, and continue his electronic edition.
“The newspaper industry has been very good at ‘woe is me,’” he said. “Let’s get people fired up about their newspapers.”
A Note From OUr Team
What Journalism Can Do for Small Towns
For the Daily Yonder, Keith Roysdon has written about Buc-ee’s and other roadside attractions, rural crime fiction, tourism of infamy and other offbeat subjects. The Tennessee-based writer of news and pop culture is the co-author of four true crime books, the latest of which, “Cold Case Muncie,” about unsolved murders in what’s long been considered the typical small American city, was published in August 2023.
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