THWARTING THE EMERGENCE OF NEWS DESERTS
March 2017 Preface
This collection of articles provides additional insight into the topics discussed at Thwarting the Rise of News Deserts, a symposium on March 28, 2017 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the UNC’s School of Media and Journalism and the Knight Foundation.
The Rise of a New Media Baron and the Emerging Threat of News Deserts, published in October 2016 by the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media, documented the dramatic changes that have occurred in newspaper industry over the past decade and the implications this has for communities throughout the country. Especially in small and mid-sized communities, residents rely on the local newspaper as their primary, if not sole, source of credible and comprehensive news. Therefore, the fates of communities and their newspapers are inherently linked.
In this series of articles, we update recent newspaper ownership changes, profile a privately held company that has bought more than a hundred newspapers in the last three years, and explore the connection between local journalism and the health of communities and citizenship in North Carolina, Michigan and Alaska. Two of the articles examine how five local papers in eastern North Carolina – only two of which are independent – covered the 2016 elections and the devastating aftermath of hurricane Matthew. Another chronicles what happens in a Michigan community when the local newspaper stops printing a daily edition and goes digital first. In another, the editor of an award-winning twice-weekly newspaper explores what it would mean to the community if his paper was sold or shuttered.
Each of the articles advances the conversation and offers a slightly different perspective on the possibilities and obstacles newspapers and communities across the country are confronting together in this digital era. As The Rise of a New Media Baron and the Emerging Threat of News Deserts concluded: “It will take a collaborative effort by many interested parties to meet the challenges posed . . . during a time of great economic and technological disruption. The fate of local newspapers and communities hangs in the balance.” CONTENTS
Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts
What Makes the News? Who Owns Your Newspaper? TV's Coverage of Rural An Update on Recent Sales Communities 05/11 32/37
Adams Publishing: A Ann Arbor: Citizenship and Newcomer With a Different The Local Newspaper Ownership Model? 12/15 38/42
Newsroom Partnerships: What a Family-Owned Paper From Competition Means to a Community to Cooperation 16/17 43/46
Does Ownership Affect Reporting? Spotlight on Research
18/31 47/50 Who Owns Your Newspaper? An 5 Update on Recent Sales 33%
17% Introduction implications for the communities where their 13% 13% recently purchased newspapers were located.11% Japan’s telecommunications conglomerate, These new media barons differ from traditional Softbank Group, announced in mid-February newspaper owners in three5% distinctive6% ways: 5% that it was purchasing, for $3.3 billion, the giant 3% 1% 1% investment firm Fortress Investment Group, • For the most part, they lack journalism 0% which manages more than $70 billion in various Pacificexperience or theMountain sense of civic missionMidwest South Mid Atlantic New England assets, ranging from real estate to debt collection traditionally embraced by owners, publishers agencies. Although it was not mentioned in many and editors of newspapers. press accounts, Fortress also owns and manages the largest newspaper chain in the U.S., New • Unlike large private chains, such as Hearst Media/GateHouse, which publishes more than or Advance, or the publicly traded ones, such 600 newspapers, shoppers and business journals as Gannett or McClatchy, newspapers often in 35 states. make up a minimal share of their diverse investment portfolios. The purchase of the New Media/GateHouse 352 377 439 newspapers by a Japanese conglomerate was the • The investment firms actively manage their 576 latest twist in a decade of upheaval and dramatic portfolio of assets. They buy, sell, trade and continually adjust, with a short-term change for the newspaper industry. More than 1,031 1,059 a third of the country’s 7,900 newspapers have focus on the bottom line and return for changed ownership since 2004. Many papers shareholders. Many of the newspapers owned were purchased at depressed prices by hedge by investment entities have been791 sold two or funds, private equity funds and other types of more times over the past decade. 923 848 newly formed investment entities, such as New Media/GateHouse.
As local newspapers continue struggling to gain an economic footing in the digital era, the industry may be reaching another inflection point as these new media barons contemplate their NEWSPAPERS OWNED BY THE next move. 25 LARGEST COMPANIES Will they sell their newspaper properties and • PUBLIC INVESTMENT PRIVATE exit the market, moving onto other, more attractive investments? 2,421 2,199 Total • Can they find buyers willing to take on the Total 439 risk and uncertainty facing the industry and 377 invest for the long-term? 1,776 Total 923 • How patient will these investment groups be 576 791 with under-performing assets?
If they cannot find buyers, will they simply • 848 shutter their distressed newspapers, leaving 1,031 1,059 small and mid-sized communities across the country without a source of local news?
The Rise of a New Media Baron and the Emerging 352 Threat of News Deserts, published by the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media 2004 2014 2017 in October 2016, documented the rise of these new investment entities and the long-term SOURCE: UNC Database 6 Who Owns Your Newspaper? An Update on Recent Sales Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 7
Since the report was published, there have • Gannett’s withdrawal of a bid to buy the • However, unlike past years, there were rumored to be shopping some of their been several transactions that may portend yet tronc/Tribune chain after shareholders no mega-acquisitions in 2016. Most of the newspapers. another shift in newspaper ownership, as new questioned the strategy and long-term value purchases were of small newspaper chains players enter the market and others, including of merging the country’s second and sixth and daily newspapers in small and mid-sized • Longtime family owners of small and some of the large investment firms, seek to sell largest newspaper companies. markets. mid-sized newspaper chains continued to their newspaper holdings. Among the major disappear as they were purchased by some of headlines: Analysis of the most recent data compiled by the • Of the investment groups, only New Media/ the largest newspaper groups. The privately University of North Carolina found that over the GateHouse has continued to seek out and held Adams Publishing Group, formed in • The purchase of Fortress and New Media/ past 12 months: aggressively purchase newspapers. In 2014, become the country’s sixth largest GateHouse by Japan’s Softbank. contrast, the other large investment groups newspaper owner by purchasing two of those • Consolidation in the industry has continued, seemed to hit pause or begin paring back family-run enterprises – ECM Publishing and • The exit of one of the large investment firms, reaching historic highs. The largest 25 their newspaper holdings in 2016. The Jones Family Media. For more information on 10/13 Communications. newspaper chains now own almost a third of 10/13 Communications group, based in the the Adams group, see “Adams Publishing: A all of the country’s newspapers. Southwest, sold all but five of its 45 weekly New Model of Ownership?” on page 14. newspapers in two transactions. Unable to KEY CHANGES AMONG LARGEST 25 COMPANIES find a buyer for its chain of more than 200 Largest 25 Continue to Grow RANKED BY NUMBER OF PAPERS OWNED: papers, Digital First, the country’s third The country’s largest newspaper owners AUGUST 2016 - MARCH 2017 largest chain, continued selling individual have continued to consolidate control of the properties. Other investment firms were Company Type: Public Investment Private AUGUST 2016 MARCH 2017 New Media/GateHouse Total Total WHERE NEWSPAPERS OWNED BY THE Rank Company continued its Rank Company Papers Papers rapid growth. 25 LARGEST COMPANIES ARE LOCATED: 2017 1 New Media/GateHouse 432 1 New Media/GateHouse 455 2 Gannett 258 2 Gannett 258 PUBLIC INVESTMENT PRIVATE 3 Digital First Media 208 3 Digital First Media 205 4 CNHI 125 Adams Publishing 4 CNHI 125 bought all of ECM's 5 Lee Enterprises 113 papers. 5 Lee Enterprises 112 6 tronc/Tribune 104 6 Adams Publishing Group 109 7 Civitas Media 90 7 tronc/Tribune 104 8 Shaw Media 83 8 Civitas Media 89 9 Ogden Newspapers 82 9 Shaw Media 83 10 BH Media 80 10 Ogden Newspapers 83 11 Advance Publications 74 11 BH Media 81 12 McClatchy 68 12 Advance Publications 74 13 Boone Newspapers 61 Hearst Corporation moved 13 McClatchy 68 into the Top 25 after a 14 Landmark Media Enterprises 57 number of acquisitions. 14 Boone Newspapers 62 15 Paxton Media Group 53 15 Hearst Corporation 62 16 Adams Publishing Group 52 16 Landmark Media Enterprises 57 17 Community Media Group 52 17 Paxton Media Group 55
18 News Media Corporation 48 10/13 Communications sold 18 Community Media Group 52 19 Black Press Group 47 nearly all of its newspapers 19 News Media Corporation 48 in two large transactions. 20 10/13 Communications 45 20 Black Press Group 47 21 Rust Communications 44 21 Rust Communications 44 22 ECM Publishers 42 22 Forum Communications 41 23 Forum Communications 41 23 Horizon Publications 36 24 Horizon Publications 32 24 Trib Publications 35 25 Trib Publications 35 25 Morris Multimedia 32 SOURCE: UNC Database SOURCE: UNC Database 8 Who Owns Your Newspaper? An Update on Recent Sales Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 9
approximately 7,900 surviving newspapers in bulk through bankruptcy proceedings between owns 62 papers, became the fifteenth largest the papers east of the Mississippi owned by the the country, of which only 1,300 are dailies 2009 and 2013. In 2016, only New Media/ chain in the country. In August, Hearst, which private chain. and the rest weeklies or nondailies. In 2017, GateHouse, the largest of the seven, continued already owned the Houston Chronicle, purchased the largest 25 companies owned 31 percent of to aggressively purchase newspapers. In the one daily and 23 weeklies in the Houston area Big Acquisitions Are Missing all newspapers, including more than half of all closing months of 2016, it acquired five papers from 10/13 Communications. Then, in January, There were more newspapers sold in 2016 than dailies. This was up from 21 percent in 2004. from the privately held Harris Enterprises in the company acquired the Pioneer Group, which in any year since 2007, the year leading up Kansas, as well the Columbia Daily Tribune in owned three weeklies and two dailies in Michigan. to the Great Recession of 2008. However, in The 2016 report categorized each of the largest Missouri. At the beginning of 2017, it acquired contrast to previous years, there were no major 25 owners into one of three categories: Ohio’s Dix Communications, which included five Both Adams Publishing and Hearst appear to transactions. The total value of all newspaper dailies and 14 weeklies. Simultaneously, it sold operate with a longer-term strategy and more A publicly traded company, such as Gannett sales in 2016 was less than each of the single • papers in Illinois and Oregon. of a journalistic mindset than the investment or McClatchy. groups. A recent Poynter article described the largest transactions in 2013, 2014, and 2015, In contrast to New Media/Gatehouse, the revitalization of the Houston Chronicle under according to Dirks, Van Essen & Murray, a A traditional private chain, such as Hearst or • 10/13 group, which was the twentieth largest Hearst’s ownership. Before selling the Jones leading merger and acquisition firm in the U.S. Advance. newspaper owner at the beginning of 2016, Media Group to Adams, CEO Gregg Jones said he newspaper industry. aggressively pared back its holdings. The ascertained that the new owners were not buying • An investment entity, in which the principal Among the large transactions that didn’t occur in firm sold 40 of its papers in two transactions, the papers with the goal of “flipping” (or selling) owners and/or operators are hedge and 2016: pension funds, or private and publicly traded transferring ownership of the Houston-area them in only a few years. Jones joined Adams equity firms. Examples include New Media/ papers to the privately held Hearst, and selling Gannett’s potential $1 billion acquisition Publishing after the purchase as an executive vice • GateHouse, owned and managed by Fortress 14 Dallas area weeklies to S.A.W. Advisors of tronc/Tribune fell through at the last president, responsible for managing most of Investment Group, and Digital First, owned LLC. S.A.W. is headed by Scott A. Wright, who and managed by Alden Capital. has extensive experience managing private equity-owned newspapers. In his LinkedIn NEWSPAPERS ACQUIRED, SOLD, MERGED, OR CLOSED BY Publicly Traded Companies: Since 2004, the profile, Wright says, “My professional goal is INVESTMENT FIRMS 2004–2017 number of large publicly traded newspaper chains to maximize value of media companies. This ACQUIRED SOLD CLOSED/MERGED has decreased by half from six to three. Gannett, includes acquisitions, divestitures, substantial Lee Enterprises and McClatchy were all three reorganizations and executive management.” sidelined until recently because of the debt they 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 assumed prior to 2008 to buy other newspaper Despite the downsizing of 10/13, the remaining 2 266 140 45 2 23 54 73 34 19 New Media/ chains. Today these three large publicly traded six largest investment entities owned 1059 7 2 11 35 8 6 10 4 newspapers at the beginning of 2017 – more GateHouse companies own 439 newspapers, up from 377 19 13 6 2 in 2014. Gannett, the country’s second largest than the total owned by the 16 largest private chain in terms of number of papers, and the corporations or the three largest publicly traded 4 1 144 28 largest in terms of total circulation, has been the ones. Digital First 13 10 7 most aggressive acquirer. Its 2016 purchases 8 7 6 Private Chains: Although they often operate include the Journal Media Group, headquartered below the radar, several private companies once 10 9 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the North Jersey again became active acquirers of newspapers. CNHI 23 1 5 5 1 1 2 2 2 1 Media Group, best known for its ownership of the As a result, the number of newspapers owned by 1 3 Bergen Record. In contrast, Lee and McClatchy private chains has risen to 923 from 791 in 2014. have tended to acquire or dispose of individual 44 59 properties. In 2016, Lee sold the Daily Herald, in In the second half of 2016, Adams Publishing Civitas 3 1 Provo, Utah, to the privately held Ogden Group Group became the sixth largest newspaper owner 8 2 2 3 while McClatchy, owner of the News & Observer with two purchases of family-owned chains. It 1 56 9 in Raleigh, North Carolina, purchased the nearby acquired more than 42 community newspapers tronc/Tribune 3 2 Durham Herald-Sun from the Paxton Media in Minnesota with a total circulation of almost 1 Group, a private company. half a million from ECM Publishers, the country’s 1 65 4 7 1 twenty-second largest chain at the time. Adams Investment Entities: Over the past decade, the also expanded into Tennessee and North Carolina BH Media number of large investment entities more than with the purchase of 13 papers, including three 1 2 doubled from three firms in 2004 to seven at dailies, from the fourth-generation, family-owned 1 3 15 28 2 1 the beginning of 2016 – New Media/GateHouse, 10/13 Jones Media. 42 Digital First Media, CNHI, tronc/Tribune, Communications Civitas Media, 10/13 communications and BH In recent months, Hearst Corporation, which now Media. Most of their papers were acquired in SOURCE: UNC Database & Various Press Releases Number of newspapers listed may not reflect total shown in press releases, which may include non-community newspapers (i.e. shoppers, business journals, etc.). 10 Who Owns Your Newspaper? An Update on Recent Sales Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 11
minute with shareholders and institutional Argus, were sold to Maine-based partners LARGEST NEWSPAPER OWNERS IN • If a buyer cannot be found, will more lenders questioning the financial viability of Reade Brower and Chip Harris. The Mitchell OHIO FEBRUARY 2017 newspapers be shuttered? Since 2004, more the merger as both companies posted less family had owned the Rutland paper since Company Type: Public Investment Private than 50 dailies have been closed or merged than stellar earnings. If the acquisition had 1947 and the Barre-Montpelier paper since and several hundred weeklies have ceased Total Daily been approved, Gannett would have owned 1964. Total Daily publication. Rank Company Circ. Circ. Papers Papers 362 newspapers with a total circulation of (000s) (000s) more than 8 million. This compares with • New Media/GateHouse acquired two dailies • Who will buy newspapers in 2017? Will it be New Media/ and a small chain of newspapers from 1 49 9 637 233 the large legacy private and public chains, New Media/GateHouse, which owns 453 GateHouse family owners in 2016. First, in July, the such as Hearst or Gannett, or newly formed newspapers in smaller markets and has a 2 Civitas Media 41 16 327 156 circulation of approximately 4 million. company acquired the Fayetteville Observer entities such as Adams Publishing? in North Carolina, which had been owned by 3 Gannett 27 11 327 157 Advance Multiple news stories have pointed to Gannett’s • Alden Global Capital, a closely held, privately the same family for 93 years. Two months 4 13 1 594 312 owned hedge fund manager, gave up its later, New Media/GateHouse purchased the Publications desire to grow through acquisitions. An article Ogden in the Wall Street Journal in October of 2016, effort to sell Digital First Media, the country’s Columbia Daily Tribune in Missouri, which 5 12 8 166 75 third-largest newspaper owner in 2015 and the Waters family had owned for 111 years. Newspapers published just before the tronc/Tribune purchase fell though, mentioned that the country’s largest began to divest individual papers and merge The company also acquired six newspapers SOURCE: UNC Database the remaining ones that are located in the in Kansas and Iowa from Harris Enterprises, publicly traded chain, which currently owns 258 same geographic area. Industry analysts which had been controlled by the Harris in and around Columbus, the state capital, and papers, plans to cut 2 percent of its workforce believe Alden does not want to remain in the family since 1907. owned a handful of papers near Canton. The Dix while focusing on more acquisitions. industry long-term. purchase gave the company a strong presence in Over the past two years, large private companies • In August, Adams Publishing acquired two the Akron area, in the eastern part of the state. have also begun actively buying again. Will Though large transactions were absent in 2016, family-owned chains – ECM Publishers in New Media/Gatehouse now owns 49 papers in Hearst and Adams Publishing Group usher in a Japan’s SoftBank assumed management of Minnesota, which had been family-owned for Ohio. New Media/GateHouse when it purchased the 40 years, and Jones Media, which had been new era of proprietors who are more interested in newspaper chain’s parent company, Fortress family-owned for 100 years. Investment companies own one third – or 93 – long-term return on investment, instead of short- Investment Group, in February. Revenues of of Ohio’s 300 newspapers and control a quarter term earnings growth? Both of these owners have $600 million from the New Media/GateHouse Update on State Case Studies of the state’s 3.9 million total circulation. The indicated that they intend to pursue a different investment entity, Civitas, the nation’s eighth management approach than the investment newspapers comprise less than one percent of Investment firms own between a fifth and a largest chain and Ohio’s second-largest owner, firms. Will other buyers follow their lead? the $70 billion in assets managed by Fortress, third of the newspapers in many states in New which will continue to be based in New York has a track record of closing “underperforming” England, the upper Midwest and the South. Finally, is there yet another model – either for- and operate independently within the Softbank newspapers. In Ohio, it closed three weeklies The half dozen largest investment groups own profit or non-profit – that brings ownership of a corporation, according to news accounts. in 2013, two in 2015, and another two in 2016. and operate more than 1,059 newspapers in paper back to the community where it is located? Softbank’s holdings include Sprint in the U.S., The first three closed were all in the Dayton 41 states, or more than 15 percent of all U.S. Several newspapers have been purchased Alibaba in China, Yahoo in Japan and ARM suburbs, and the remainder were in smaller papers. Many of the papers are located in recently either by wealthy individuals or by non- Holdings in the United Kingdom. economically struggling small and mid-sized communities along the lakefront near Sandusky. profit foundations with ties to the community. communities, with few alternative reliable For example, the Alaska-based Helen Snedden Looking Ahead Disappearing Family Owners sources of news. Foundation purchased both the Fairbanks Daily Between 2004 and 2014, the number of Consolidation often occurs in an industry News-Miner and Kodiak Daily Mirror in early independent family owners declined by 22 The 2016 report featured case studies on experiencing declining growth and market share. 2016 from Digital First. The Snedden family percent nationally. Many of the sales in mid- to six states where investment firms owned a Over the past decade, the challenging economics had previously owned the News-Miner from 1950 late-2016 marked the end of long-time family significant portion of newspapers: Massachusetts, of the newspaper industry upset long-standing to 1992. “Putting these newspapers into the ownership. According to Dirks, Van Essen & Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina, Kentucky and ownership patterns, and led to the rise of a new hands of the foundation means there won’t be Murray , the 50 daily newspapers that were sold West Virginia. On average, in these six states, media baron, investment entities that swooped in shareholder pressure for a market-rate profit,” in 2016 had been owned by their sellers for an investment entities own 20 percent or more of and bought newspapers at distressed sales. said a spokeman for the foundation. average of 46.3 years. newspapers. However, in parts of Massachusetts and West Virginia investment firms own as much Except for New Media/GateHouse, most of the As turnover in ownership continues at a brisk • In May, the Dille family sold the daily Elkhart as two thirds. large investment firms sat on the sidelines in pace, the newspaper industry is potentially (Indiana) Truth to Kentucky-based Paxton 2016. Some appear to be ready to exit the on the cusp of another inflection point. Who Media Group. The paper had been locally Ohio is the only state where there has been a market entirely. For investment companies owns and operates local news organizations will owned for more than 125 years and under significant change in investment ownership in seeking to sell their properties, a number of have long-term economic, social, and political the Dille family’s control for more than 60 recent months. In January 2017, New Media/ questions remain: consequences for the health and welfare of the years. GateHouse announced their purchase of the thousands of communities across the country. privately held Dix Communications, which • Will their newspapers be acquired wholesale • In August, the Rutland (Vermont) Herald and included five dailies and 14 weeklies. New Media/ or sold off in piecemeal fashion? Research Specialist Cody Allen contributed to this its sister paper, the Barre-Montpelier Times GateHouse already had a significant presence article. Adams Publishing: A Newcomer With 12 a Diferent Ownership Model? Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 13
Carol Wolf, Walter E. Hussman Visiting Professor, UNC School of Media and Journalism Adams Publishing kept all of the more than NEWSPAPERS OWNED BY 400 Jones Media employees, maintaining their ADAMS PUBLISHING GROUP existing salaries and benefits, he said. It was no secret that Gregg Jones didn't want to Their purchases were funded with significant Number State sell his family's 100-year-old newspaper chain. debt. Additionally, those corporate owners have Jones and others in the industry believe Adams Newspapers He'd operated Greeneville, Tennessee-based been willing to sell, trade or close unprofitable Publishing may have hit on a way to make money Minnesota 56 Jones Media for 15 years and loved everything papers. in local journalism the old fashioned way: by Maryland 13 about the business. But the rest of the family producing high-quality newspapers that serve the “The hedge funds destroyed these publications. Ohio 9 overrode his wishes. Forced to sell the company local community. that had been in the family for four generations, They destroyed what the brand stood for. … They Tennessee 9 destroyed what it took so long to build,” Jones Jones was determined to get the best possible The company looks to buy nonmetro publications Wisconsin 7 buyers for the papers and the 400 employees he said. where the newspapers or groups have revenue North Carolina 5 considered friends. of about $10 million, said Larry Grimes, of In contrast, Adams Publishing is buying W.B. Grimes & Co., a Gaithersburg, Maryland- Idaho 4 properties to nurture them back to life, said The list of potential buyers for the three dailies based mergers and acquisitions advisory Whyoming 4 Jones, 67. Jones is now an executive vice and 10 weeklies in Tennessee and western firm specializing in media properties. Adams president with Adams Publishing and responsible Delaware 1 North Carolina included large hedge funds Publishing looks for large niche markets and buys for most of its papers east of the Mississippi. Michigan 1 and private equity groups, which, for the past within a geographic region. So far, the company decade, have been the most voracious acquirers “While Adams was doing their due diligence on has focused primarily on purchasing papers in the of newspapers. Instead, in August 2016, Jones Journalism runs in the Adams family. Stephen me, I was doing my due diligence on them,” Midwest, but it owns publications as far to the turned over the keys of his company to Adams was the son of Cedric Adams, a radio and Jones said. “I wanted to find the best buyers east as the Jersey shore. Publishing, a little-known chain based near television broadcaster and a long-time columnist possible, and I thank God for the Adams family Minneapolis. Adams Publishing works to reduce costs by for the Minneapolis Star. Cedric Adams in 1956 every day.” centralizing production, accounting, and other appeared from his home as a guest on Edward In only three years, Adams Publishing Group Before selling his company, Jones says, he asked low-value, back-office functions, Grimes said. R. Murrow’s “Person to Person” show and was LLC has become the sixth-largest newspaper Mark Adams “point blank” if his intentions were Journalistically, reporters and editors are able friends with entertainer Arthur Godfrey. chain in the U.S., by number of newspapers to buy, strip costs, and then resell. “Mark said, to produce stories that can be used by other owned. The company, owned by billionaire In addition to its 109 newspapers, Adams ‘Nope. I want to build a company where people papers in the chain, holding down the costs of investor Stephen Adams and his family, Publishing also owns 20 radio stations as well are proud to go to work,’” Jones said. “I’ve seen the various newsrooms by forming a sort of co- appeared on the publishing scene in March 2014, as printing plants in 11 states, according to the no indication through their actions so far to op. On the revenue side, Adams offers group purchasing 34 papers spread across Minnesota, company’s website. contradict that statement.” advertising buys. With the financial resources of Wisconsin, Ohio, and the Chesapeake region, the Adams family, the papers are not short on The long-term goal is for each newspaper to from American Consolidated Media. Since then funds if an investment is needed. Adams Publishing has purchased more than 80 TIMELINE OF ADAMS PUBLISHING GROUP operate at 15 percent margins, but Adams newspapers, and by the end of 2016, it owned “They are embracing the strategic acquisition Publishing is patient about developing that Number 109 papers – mostly weeklies and small dailies Year Month Acquisition model of the past, and they are doing it value, Jones said. The company works with local Newspapers located in the Midwest. beautifully,” Grimes said. “They have no financial publishers to enhance the papers’ standing in the 2014 March American Consolidated Media 34 shackles and substantial funding.” community, he said. Chief Executive Officer Mark Adams, 55, and July Huckle Media LLC 10 his company have flown largely under the radar, “The Adams family runs their holdings efficiently,” Chronotype Publishing Mark Adams did not respond to repeated Aug. 1 he said, “They are engaged in the community. unknown to those outside the industry. At a time Company requests for an interview. He is the second of when most legacy newspapers in the country four sons of billionaire investor Stephen Adams, They have no exit strategy.” Sept. Athens (OH) News 1 are struggling economically, why is Adams 79, who has built an eclectic mix of businesses, Instead, he said, the company aims for high- Publishing buying so many papers? What is its 2015 March Dundalk Eagle 1 including outdoor advertising, camping supplies, quality content and rarely fires staff, reducing the long-term strategy, and will it prove an antidote Post Community Media Group's radio stations, and wineries in the U.S. and July 13 size of the workforce through retirements and to the prevailing business model used by private Southern MD Newspapers Europe. Stephen Adams and his two other sons normal attrition and turnover. investment and hedge funds? July LaPean Publications 3 are active at the board level of Adams Publishing, Oct. McCraken Newspaper Group 4 but leave operations to Mark Adams. The emphasis on high-quality content has not Over the last decade, corporate investors have gone unnoticed by the newspaper industry. sought to wring profit from their newspaper Oct. Post Register Group 4 Before forming Adams Publishing, Mark Adams Adams Publishing-owned newspapers garnered holdings by selling real estate assets, cutting 2016 Feb. Defiance Publishing Company 1 worked in private equity, concentrating on more than 60 of the 550 awards presented by the costs, and firing workers. Many of their business-to-business, specialty, and consumer Aug. ECM Publishers 63 Minnesota Newspaper Association at its January purchases were made between 2009 and 2013 magazines. He is a graduate of Tufts University. Sept. Jones Media 13 convention in Minneapolis. Roughly half of the at historically low prices for newspapers, when papers Adams Publishing owns are in Minnesota. several large legacy chains filed for bankruptcy. *Number of newspapers acquired reflects totals provided in press releases and may include non-community newspapers (i.e. shoppers, business journals, etc.) Adams Publishing: A Newcomer 14 Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 15 With a Different Ownership Model?
Whether the Adams Publishing strategy pays in counties with above-average poverty rates. “Adams identifies the publications that can have off or not will depend in large part on the initial healthy margins,” Jones said. “They are directing purchase price of the publication. This is a Additionally, while corporate investors have operations in a different way than did the hedge good time to buy papers because they are at tended to buy large chains in financial distress, funds.” historically low valuations, said Gary Greene, Adams Publishing leans toward purchasing managing director of Cribb, Greene & Associates, papers in relatively good financial health. Since Whether Adams Publishing will continue to a Helena, Montana-based media brokerage and Adams is a private company, it does not disclose purchase papers remains to be seen. But the consulting company. the finances of its newspapers. Based on the important question for the industry becomes: number and type of newspapers that Adams Will Adams Publishing’s contrarian strategy of Newspaper selling prices depend on the health owns, industry analysts estimate that annual producing high-quality newspapers and investing of the local economy in which they are located. revenue for the company is between $100 million for the long-term serve as a model for other Papers in more affluent communities sell at and $150 million. potential newspaper buyers? higher multiples, although even those prices are low relative to historic standards, Greene said. To date, Adams Publishing has paid cash for Jones said he believes the family is on to the newspapers it acquires. In contrast, many something. Before the economic recession of 2008, hedge funds and private-equity consortiums newspapers sold for as much as 13 times have financed their acquisitions with significant “This family hasn’t had many missteps in their annual earnings, according to industry sources. debt. To pay off the loans, the newly acquired business dealings,” Jones said. “These are smart Currently, newspapers sell in the range of three newspapers have had to employ a number of people. They wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t a to five times earnings. cost-cutting measures, including cutting staff, good investment.” freezing wages and reducing benefits. Adams Publishing tends to focus on purchasing family-owned newspapers located in counties Since purchasing its first newspaper chain three that are average or above average in affluence. years ago, Adams Publishing has tended to Only 25 percent of the newspapers that Adams follow the same buying pattern. The publisher Publishing owns are located in counties with first identified a privately held, family-operated above-average poverty levels, according to U.S. chain it wished to purchase. It then approached Census Bureau data. In contrast, between 40 and the owners of those papers, even if they hadn’t 60 percent of the newspapers owned by some of publicly announced that the properties were for the largest investment-owned chains – such as sale. In this way, Adams Publishing avoided the
New Media/Gatehouse and Civitas – are located sort of auctions that drive up prices.
MAP OF ADAMS PUBLISHING GROUP NEWSPAPERS DAILY WEEKLY 16 What a Family-Owned Paper Means Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 17 to a Community John Nagy, Editor of The Pilot in Southern Pines. NC So what would happen if The Pilot decided to Gauge the energy level of the people. Then come sell all its assets tomorrow to one of these see us and talk to some of those we’ve hired “investors”? Almost right away, many of your from there. The Pilot in the eastern North Carolina town newspaper chains, and what that means for the friends and neighbors who work here would be of Southern Pines celebrates its 97th year in towns those papers serve. laid off, meaning about 25 fewer people working Folks in those communities regularly call us, 2017, all as a privately owned, community and spending money downtown. A news staff of asking about us buying their local paper and The bottom line here is, well, that the bottom line newspaper. The paper has a long history of 12 would be cut in half, and likely more. Same doing for them what The Pilot does here. One of means more to these newspaper owners than the distinguished publishers and owners, including for advertising. Circulation? That’d be handled those calls came last week. They’re tired of a 12- interests of the communities and the people in the author James Boyd and his wife Katherine, out of state, so that’s three more layoffs. Same page paper devoid of local news, and they look at them. and the author and poet laureate Sam Ragan. with accounting. our 40-page all-local product with envy. In 1996, The Pilot was purchased by group led In North Carolina, one out of every three by the Daniels family, founders and owners of As for other pieces of our business: The The Pilot has no intention of leaving Moore newspapers is controlled by an out-of-state the News & Observer in Raleigh for 100 years. magazine division — PineStraw, O.Henry, Salt County a news desert. In the past couple of chain or private equity group. Moore County Since then, The Pilot's business has grown from and Business North Carolina — would likely be years, we have invested hundreds of thousands is surrounded by these entities. Papers in a twice weekly newspaper to include: a monthly sold off and those jobs relocated. Moore and of dollars in new staff, new technology, new Sanford, Rockingham, Laurinburg, Lumberton, state business magazine and the three lifestyle Lee County Telephone Directory would be put up initiatives like The Sway and First Flight Digital, and Fayetteville all fall into this category, as do magazines serving Pinehurst, Greensboro and for sale and its staff slashed. And The Country and new acquisitions like Business North papers a bit farther away in Greensboro and Wilmington; a telephone directory division; a Bookshop? The same, and who knows if a new Carolina. Virtually every day, Publisher David Asheboro. The two largest newspapers in the digital media services agency; and The Country buyer could make a go of the shop, since The Woronoff and I talk about other possible ventures state — in Raleigh and Charlotte — are owned by Bookshop in Southern Pines. The paper has Pilot handles its bookkeeping and promotion. or investments in this community. Sacramento, California-based McClatchy. won numerous honors over the years and was As for the downtown block of Pennsylvania We, like you, are here because we’ve recognized honored the past two consecutive years as the Newspaper ownership can seem an esoteric Avenue between Broad and Bennett streets The the specialness of this community. Visitors are best community newspaper in the country by subject of little consequence to you and this Pilot owns, well, that’s prime property. The Pilot’s surprised by the vibrancy of our towns, the the National Newspaper Association. This article community. But look at it this way: Would you offices under a new owner would likely be moved quality of our restaurants, the challenge of our by Editor John Nagy appeared in The Pilot on rather have a vibrant downtown or blocks of to a little out-of-the-way office building, and the golf courses, the beauty of our landscapes. They January 15, 2017. vacant storefronts and a bustling Wal-Mart downtown properties would be put up for sale, want to return. They want to live here. We are out by the highway? Do you make it a point to dropping 16,000 square feet of vacant office the overwhelming choice for young military support local businesses or instead frequent space on an already saturated market. couples and families. I use downtime around the holidays to catch corporately owned restaurants and retailers? The up on my desk reading, an eclectic collection of comparisons are apt. For The Pilot’s new owner, all these changes Since our early days in Vass 97 years ago to our magazine articles, reports, and other assorted would bring an incredible return on its storied local ownership over the decades, The The “new media barons” focus only on profit, not clippings I set aside for later. investment. It could likely recoup its cost Pilot has been unwavering in its commitment reinvestment, and surely not about investment in within two years or less. You can see why these to the Sandhills. That commitment extends the greater communities in which they operate. This pile goes quickly, because by the time I get little-town newspapers are so sought after. far beyond what you find in the pages of a Notice I didn’t say “serve.” around to it, these pieces are either outdated or They’re cheap, asset-rich and well-positioned in newspaper or website or Facebook page. I’ve forgotten why I found them interesting in the Consider the case of Tarboro, about an hour east noncompetitive markets. first place. We remain faithful to being that oasis in the news of Raleigh. That town, about the size of Southern The return for you? Nothing. Forget about any desert. Pines, has been without a local newspaper since That wasn’t the case with the recent study I more community sponsorships, support for 2014, when Alabama-based private equity firm read from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Media United Way, employees serving on nonprofit Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. shut one and Journalism. The report, written by school boards like the Coalition for Human Care or down rather than try to sell to another owner or professor Penny Abernathy, lays out the state of Family Promise or the Arts Council. newspaper ownership today and what that means neighboring paper. for communities across the country. No endowment for things like the Ruth Pauley Its skeleton operation had been cut to the point Lecture Series or financial backing of ventures where it could be cut no further. So no more The title — “The Rise of a New Media Baron and like saving the Sunrise Theater or buying The community news, calendar events, civic group the Emerging Threat of News Deserts” — doesn’t Country Bookshop because of a belief that a town pictures, or high school sports. Not even one exactly roll off the tongue, but its contents have should have its own bookstore. been rumbling around my head the last week or place to catch up on the obituaries. two. Think I’ve painted too bleak a picture? Ask the Everything we do at The Pilot — the paper, the people you know in Sanford or Laurinburg or magazines, the phone directories, The Country The report looks at how hundreds of small-town Rockingham about what their newspaper has Bookshop — is interrelated, and, in some way, we papers have been snapped up over the last done for them lately. Go visit the newspapers’ all play a role in the success of the others. few years by private investment groups and offices and see how welcoming you find them. City, Poverty Rate City, Poverty Rate Newspaper County Owner Frequency Circulation (State Rank of 100) Newspaper County Owner Frequency Circulation (State Rank of 100) Fayetteville Fayetteville, New Media/ Fayetteville Fayetteville, New Media/ 7 days 37,858 17.6% (62) Observer Cumberland GateHouse 7 days 37,858 17.6% (62) Observer Cumberland GateHouse Laurinburg Laurinburg, Civitas Laurinburg Laurinburg, Civitas 5 days 8,200 28.9% (3) Exchange Scotland Media 5 days 8,200 28.9% (3) City,Exchange Scotland Media Poverty Rate Newspaper County Owner Frequency Circulation (State Rank of 100) The Lumberton, Civitas The Lumberton, Civitas 6 days 12,562 33.1$ (1) Fayetteville Fayetteville,Robesonian New Media/Robeson Media 6 days 12,562 33.1$ (1) Robesonian Robeson7 days Media37,858 17.6% (62) Observer Cumberland GateHouse Southern Southern Laurinburg Laurinburg,The Pilot CivitasPines,Southern Pilot, LLC 2 days 15,317 15.5% (79) The Pilot Pines, 5 days Pilot,8,200 LLC 2 28.9%days (3) 15,317 15.5% (79) Exchange ScotlandThe Pilot MediaMoorePines, Pilot, LLC 2 days 15,317 15.5% (79) 18 Moore Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 19 Does Ownership Affect Reporting? The Lumberton, CivitasMoore 6 days 12,562 33.1$ (1) Robesonian RobesonThe News MediaWhiteville, Patrick Sims, Research Associate, The News Whiteville, High Family 2 days 10,635 24.3% (17) Reporter Columbus High Family 2 days 10,635 24.3% (17) UNC School of Media and Journalism The other two papers – the RobesonianSouthernReporter and ColumbusResearch has shown that local newspapers The Laurinburg ExchangeThe Pilot – are partPines, of the Pilot, LLChave 2historically days set15,317 the agenda15.5% for debate (79) of Civitas Media chain of 90 newspapers, which are City,major policy issues in their own communities.American Other In the fall of 2016, local newspapers in eastern for their journalism; with the News Reporter Moore City, American Other mostly located in small, economicallyNewspaper distressed CountyHow residents of communitiesWhite Blackwhere theseIndian five Hispanic North Carolina scrambled to cover two major receiving the Pulitzer Public Service award in communities in the SouthThe News and Midwest.Whiteville,Newspaper Civitas Countynewspapers are locatedWhite respondBlack to both theIndian Hispanic stories: the upcoming November 8 elections, 1953 for its courageous stand against the Ku High Family 2 days 10,635 24.3% (17) Media is owned by VersaReporter Capital Management,Columbus 2016 election and Hurricane Matthew could which had important down-ballot state and Klux Klan. a private equity firm based in Philadelphia.Fayetteville Fayetteville,determine the quality of45% life they will37% experience 2% 12% 4% local races, and the damage caused by historic Fayetteville Fayetteville, 45% 37% 2% 12% 4% According to Versa’s website, it focusesCity,Observer on Cumberlandin future years.American The next45% two articles37% analyzeOther 2% 12% 4% flooding in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, The other three papers are owned by recently Observer Cumberland formed investment groups. The Fayetteville buying “distressed properties.”Newspaper In aCounty 2012 Whiteand compareBlack theIndian coverage of theseHispanic two major which hit the state exactly one month earlier, on Wall Street Journal article Michael Bush, then- events by the independently owned newspapers October 8. The following two articles explore Observer, the state’s oldest continuously Laurinburg Laurinburg, 45% 39% 12% 3% 1% CEO of Civitas Media,Fayetteville said that newspapers Fayetteville,Laurinburg in Laurinburg,and those owned by investment45% firms.39% 12% 3% 1% how five local papers in the region covered both published daily paper, was recently purchased Exchange Scotland45% 37% 45%2% 39%12% 4%12% 3% 1% smaller communitiesObserver were better positionedCumberlandExchange to Scotland events. by New Media/GateHouse from a family that Exchange Scotland had owned the paper for four generations. be economically successful because they had lower fixed labor andLaurinburg manufacturing Laurinburg,The costs and Lumberton, 27% 24% 39% 9% 1% Two of the papers are family-owned and GateHouse is owned and operated by Fortress The Lumberton,45% 39% 27%12% 24%3% 1%39% 9% 1% fewer competitors thanExchange metro newspapers.ScotlandRobesonian The Robeson 27% 24% 39% 9% 1% operated: The Pilot in Southern Pines and The Investment Group, which manages more than Robesonian Robeson News Reporter in Whiteville. Both are published $70 billion in assets, including private railroads, Robesonian and Exchange fit the typical profile of The Lumberton, twice weekly, with circulations of less than golf courses and real estate. Civitas papers. Southern27% Pines,24% 77%39% 13%9% 1%1% 7% 2% Robesonian RobesonThe Pilot Southern Pines, 77% 13% 1% 7% 2% 15,000. Both have received national awards The Pilot Moore 77% 13% 1% 7% 2% Moore MAP OF NEWSPAPERS Southern Pines, 77% 13% 1% 7% 2% The Pilot The News Whiteville, MooreThe News Whiteville, 60% 30% 4% 5% 1% GATEHOUSE CIVITAS HIGH FAMILY PILOT LLC The News Whiteville, 60% 30% 4% 5% 1% SUMMARY OF NEWSPAPERSReporter Columbus The News Whiteville,Reporter Columbus60% 30% 4% 5% 1% Reporter Columbus Estimated FTE Poverty Rate County Ethnic/ Newspaper City, County Owner Freq. Circ. Newsroom (County Racial Composition Staff* Rank of 100) (%) Fayetteville Fayetteville, New Media/ 5 days 37,858 20 17.6% (62) 45 37 2 12 4 Observer Cumberland GateHouse Laurinburg Laurinburg, Civitas 3 5 days 8,200 2.5 28.9% (3) 45 39 12 31 Exchange Scotland Media Lumberton, Civitas Robesonian 6 days 12,562 4.5 33.1% (1) 27 24 39 9 1 Robeson Media Southern Pilot Pilot, LLC 2 days 10,635 8 15.5% (79) 77 13 1 7 2 Pines, Moore 5 News Whiteville, High Family 2 days 10,635 4 24.3% (17) 60% 30 4 51 Reporter Columbus
*Excludes Sports editors and writers White Black American Indian Hispanic Other White Black American Indian Hispanic Other White Black American Indian Hispanic Other Fayetteville Observer Whiteville News Reporter Robesonian Laurinburg Exchange The Pilot
70 66
60
50
40 37
30 25 27 22 20 18 14 14 10 9 10 11 10 8 8 4 6 6 4 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 3 3 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 October 1-8 October 9-15 October 16-22 October 23-29 Oct. 30 - Nov. 5 November 6-10
20 2016 Elections: How Five Papers Covered Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 21 State and Local Races Fayetteville Observer Whiteville News Reporter Robesonian Laurinburg Exchange The Pilot STAFF-WRITTEN ARTICLES COVERING NOVEMBER 2016 NATIONAL ELECTION 30 FayettevilleFayetteville Observer Observer WhitevilleWhiteville News News Reporter Reporter RobesonianRobesonian LaurinburgLaurinburg Exchange Exchange The ThePilot Pilot
The November 2016 election followed one of • One formerly independent newspaper that 25 the most contentious campaign seasons in was acquired by the investment-owned 70 70 66 66 21 recent memory. As a “purple” swing state, New Media/GateHouse in August 2016 (The 20 18 North Carolina was considered pivotal in the Fayetteville Observer). 60 60 presidential election. Both Hillary Clinton and 15 Donald Trump visited the state over 10 times. As readership, revenues, and newsroom staffs 50 50 have declined across the industry, many The race for governor was one of the closest in 10 newspapers have relied primarily on cost- 40 40 37 37 8 the nation, with only 10,000 votes separating 7 7 7 6 5 5 5 Roy Cooper and incumbent Pat McCrory after 4.7 cutting to meet profit expectations. As a result, 30 30 27 27 4 4 4 4 4 5 3 25 25 3 3 million ballots had been cast. newsroom and editorial staffs declined by 40 1 2 2 22 22 1 1 2 2 2 2 percent between 2005 and 2006. This has 20 20 0 0180 18 14 14 0 14 14 As most of the national and regional press was left many smaller newspapers struggling to be Week 110 10 Week 2 Week9 109 3 10 11 11Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 10 10 8 88 8 closely following the executive races, North aggressive watchdogs in their communities, 4 4 October 1-8 6 6 October 9-15 6 6 October 16-22 October 23-29 Oct.4 30 -4 Nov. 5 November 6-10 2 2 2 12 1 2 2 1 21 2 2 12 1 3 3 3 3 Carolinians were also going to the polls to some of the country’s most vulnerable. In turn, 0 0 *Excludes editorials and articles not written by staff members. choose hundreds of state legislators, county the larger regional newspapers have also pulled WeekWeek 1 1 WeekWeek 2 2 WeekWeek 3 3 WeekWeek 4 4 WeekWeek 5 5 WeekWeek 6 6 commissioners, county school board members, back from outlying rural communities, further OctoberOctober 1-8 1-8 OctoberOctober 9-15 9-15 OctoberOctober 16-22 16-22 OctoberOctober 23-29 23-29 Oct. Oct.30 - 30Nov. - Nov.5 5 NovemberNovember 6-10 6-10 Only one of the newspapers – the provide accountability for legislators. But growing judges, and other locally elected officials. diminishing the oversight of major issues that • independently owned Pilot – endorsedOctober financial hardships in the newspaperNovember industry____ While voters could find an endless stream of could affect entire regions. candidates5 6 7 in8 local9 10 elections.11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22have23 24 depressed25 26 27 28 profits29 30 31and1 coverage2 3 4 5alike.6 7 8 information on the presidential election, small At the same time, many independent, locally 100 community papers are often the only source they FayettevilleFayetteville Observer Observer WhitevilleWhiteville News News Reporter Reporter RobesonianRobesonianMany metroLaurinburg newspapersLaurinburg Exchange Exchange have beenThe ThePilotforced Pilot The Cape Fear Region 53 59 62 62 62 have for substantive, in-depth coverage of local owned newspapers, which have also been The Pilot 38 43 48 to focus their coverage29 33 33 closer to home at suffering from declining revenue, have 14 18 22 24 elections. The Fayetteville Observer has traditionally sought 5 8 10the10 expense of the outlying areas, and The demonstrated their commitment to their 30 30 to serve the entire 10-county Cape Fear region, Fayetteville Observer is no exception. Newsroom100 With the stakes so high, this election offered a communities. To varying degrees of success, The whichNews includes Columbus, Moore, Robeson and staff was already shrinking before its sale to New 25 25 44 52 55 55 55 useful test of how different types of newspaper these papers have sought ways to increase Reporter 31 33 39 Scotland counties, home of The News Reporter, Media/Gatehouse21 21 17 23 28 28in August.28 As a result, coverage ownership affect campaign coverage. A 2016 revenue while maintaining their traditional level 4 6 6 6 9 12 20 20 The Pilot, The Robesonian, and The Laurinburg of the Cape Fear region has shrunk. report by the Center for Innovation and of in-depth reporting and strong editorial voice. 18 18 Exchange, respectively. Much of this region is 100 Sustainability in Local Media documented the The 68 68 68 Charles Broadwell, the former local56 63 owner and 15 15 Fayettevilleeconomically and socially vulnerable, suffering 41 46 51 rise of a new type of newspaper owner – private Clear Trends Emerged From the Analysis: 28 33 35 38 Observerfrom high poverty rates, subpar public school publisher15 20 24of The Fayetteville Observer, said, “We equity funds, hedge funds and other newly 6 10 10 10 The Fayetteville Observer confined its 10 10 education and poor health outcomes. Robeson8 8 never wanted to pull back too much on those formed investment partnerships – that had • 100 and Scotland counties have7 7 the highest poverty7 7 folks, so we kept delivering7 The67 6 Observer, but at purchased hundreds of papers over the past coverage to national races and local elections The 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 the same4 time44 44 with4 the recession,4 444all 46the46 changes46 with jurisdiction over Cumberland County and 3 3 Robesonianrates in the state. 3Few3 schools3 in3 Columbus, 31 37 decade. By 2016, these investment entities 2 22 2 2 2 2 22 2 2 172 18 20 26 1 1Robeson, and Scotland1 1 counties1 scored1 higher 2 4 4 in4 our6 industry,7 9 11 12 we did have to cut staff. … Our owned more than 1,000 papers nationwide. This did not cover local elections outside its home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 than a “C” on their school report cards. journalistic numbers had to come down so we100 include 40 of North Carolina’s 185 papers. county in great depth. WeekWeek 1 1 WeekWeek 2 2 WeekWeek 3 3 WeekWeek 4 4 WeekWeek 5 5 WeekWeek 6 6 The Additionally, these three counties were among could stay profitable, and, unfortunately,59 64 64 that64 OctoberOctober Laurinburg1-8 1-8 OctoberOctober 9-15 9-15 OctoberOctober 16-22 16-22 OctoberOctober 23-29 23-29 Oct. Oct.30 - 30Nov. - Nov.5 5 NovemberNovember43 47 6-1052 6-10 The two independently owned newspapers, meant fewer30 boots34 34 on34 the39 ground. Our ability to This follow-up report uses case studies to • Exchangethe least-healthy counties in the state in 2015, 16 21 26 6 11 11get11 to some of those outlying counties, if you investigate how these ownership changes The Pilot and The News Reporter, tended to with high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart will, it was tough.” affected coverage of local elections. The analysis, cover local races in greater detail than their disease. Start of Early Voting Election Day investment-owned peers, dedicating more which reviewed 40 days of reporting leading Shortly after acquiring the paper, New Media/ space to staff-written articles about state and Cumberland, Robeson, andOctober ScotlandOctober are all NovemberNovember______up to the November 2016 election, covers five GateHouse offered companywide employee local elections. They also published candidate 5 65 76 majority-minority,87 98 109 11101211 1312 1413 which1514 1615 17means1618171918 they2019 2120 have2221 2322 more2423 2524 26252726 2827 29283029 3130 131 21 32 43 54 65 76 87 8 newspapers in the Cape Fear region of North buyouts. The Fayetteville Observer declined to coverage earlier than the other papers, nonwhite residentsDays Endorsements than white residents. and Q&As Only Published Days Q&As Published Days with no 100 Early 100 Vo9ng Carolina: say how manyX staff members accepted the offer, helping prepare early voters. 11 percent of the nation’s counties fit into that 62 6262 6262 62 The ThePilot Pilot 48 5348 5953 59 category in 2013. In Robeson County, four out of saying33 3333 only3833 4338 that43 it was a “small number of people • Two independent newspapers (The Pilot in 18 2218 2422 2924 29 5 85 108 1010 1410 14 in the newsroom.” Long-time prep sports writer Southern Pines and The News Reporter in • The Robesonian and The Laurinburg Exchange every 10 people identify as American Indian. Earl Vaughan Jr. was one of those reporters – Whiteville); both relied heavily on wire service reports, 100 100 These challenges and characteristics make the he had been with the paper for 44 years and which included significant national coverage, The TheNews News 55 5555 5555 55 39 4439 5244 52 ReporterReporter civic role of the community newspaper even more 28tweeted2828 2828 31 28on3331 September33 8 that he had accepted a • Two newspapers owned by Civitas Media, to fill their pages. 17 2317 23 4 64 66 66 96 129 12 an investment company (The Robesonian in critical. Newspapers, which have long enjoyed buyout offer. According to its website, the paper Lumberton and The Laurinburg Exchange); strong profit margins, have traditionally worked now has about 20 non-sports100 newsroom100 staff The The to foster a well-informed electorate and to members. 63 6863 6868 6868 68 FayettevilleFayetteville 46 5146 5651 56 33 3533 3835 4138 41 ObserverObserver 20 2420 2824 28 6 106 1010 1010 1510 15
100 100 The The 44 4644 4646 4646 46 RobesonianRobesonian 31 3731 37 17 1817 2018 2620 26 2 42 44 44 64 76 97 119 1211 12
100 100 The The 59 6459 6464 6464 64 47 5247 52 LaurinburgLaurinburg 34 3434 3434 3934 4339 43 21 2621 3026 30 ExchangeExchange 6 116 1111 1111 1611 16
StartStart of Early of Early Voting Voting ElectionElection Day Day
Days Days Endorsements Endorsements and and Q&As Q&As Published Published Days Days Q&As Q&As Published PublishedX Days X Days with with no no Early Vo9ng Early Vo9ng 22 2016 Elections: How Five Papers Covered State and Local Races Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 23
Before the sale to New Media/Gatehouse, the The Value of Local Newspapers in When The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, newspapers have been slow to react. Observer published stories about layoffs or major Local Elections California, was sold by Halifax to local owners buy-outs. For example, an article from March in 2012, the paper quickly resumed writing When newspapers wait until late into the election 2015 announced a new round of layoffs and The media’s influence on elections is a point of editorials. Publisher Bruce Kyse wrote, “It seems season to publish Q&A’s with candidates, as they noted that the paper had eliminated about 130 great contention among journalists, researchers, incongruous to us that the one time a newspaper mostly did in our analysis, many voters go to jobs since 2007, including an unspecified number and policymakers. The rise of “fake news” and would not offer its opinion is when it comes to the polls without the independent background of newsroom employees – a 30 percent decline. alternative news sources that have been able to making the most important decision a community research and analysis the paper offers. The Pilot quickly find national audiences through social makes together — choosing elected leaders.” is the only paper in the analysis that published all All of these cutbacks have diminished the paper’s media have many worried that the waning of its Q&A’s before the start of early voting. The abilities to cover outlying areas in the Cape Fear influence of newspapers will decline even more The reasons for deciding not to publish News Reporter, the other independent newspaper, region. Most concerning are those counties that rapidly. endorsements may vary. A large chain may, for published the last of its Q&A’s on October constitute some of the state’s poorest areas, example, want to maintain independence or 31, which was earlier than all three of the already contending with weakened newspapers Newspapers have three main levers for informing avoid alienating readers who disagree with the investment-owned newspapers. The Laurinburg of their own. As Broadwell notes, “What worries their electorate and shaping the debate: (1) paper’s views. But shrinking resources may also Exchange, for example, published its final Q&A you is that we have fewer boots on the ground regular coverage of candidates, (2) question-and- be to blame. David Haynes, editorial page editor on election day, when two-thirds of the county’s … smaller, local papers around us, many of them answer (Q&A) features that provide a forum for at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which no votes had already been cast. Donnie Douglas, have been hammered even harder than The candidates to offer their positions on issues, and longer endorses candidates, told the Columbia editor of The Robesonian, said, “Early voting has Observer has.” (3) editorial endorsements to help voters in their Journalism Review that filling the information changed the whole thing. … We’ve always done candidate selection, especially in elections where void at the local level would be difficult. it this way, and we haven’t adjusted yet to the Similarly, The News & Observer in Raleigh, the voters have little information on specific policies, “Unfortunately, I don’t think I can fix it with early voting.” state capital, has been forced to reduce its offices, or candidates (e.g. judges). endorsement editorials. I don’t have staffing for coverage of areas outside its home territory. the broad-brush editorials we once did.” The flooding that devastated much of eastern Historically, the paper has been instrumental in According to a recent Nielsen Scarborough study, North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Matthew coverage of statewide policy issues, including despite changing readership habits, newspapers Endorsements require significant research and made it difficult for three of the newspapers in its Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting on the rising still reach 69 percent of the U.S. population each consideration. David Woronoff, part-owner and this analysis to track campaigns and to provide environmental costs of hog farms in eastern month. For community papers, political coverage publisher of The Pilot, said that before endorsing, detailed candidate Q&A’s in a timely manner. North Carolina in the mid-1990s. However, since of local elections is especially salient. A wealth the editorial board meets with each of the The storm hit the state on October 8, exactly 2000, the total newspaper staff has declined from of information is available to readers, from a candidates and solicits input from experts in the one month before Election Day and only 12 about 1,200 full-time-equivalent employees to number of sources, such as metro papers, on field. Similarly, Kyse said the Santa Rosa paper days before the start of early voting. Lumberton just 350 in April of 2016, greatly constricting the gubernatorial and other state races. However, spent 45 minutes to an hour with each candidate was already suffering from mild flooding due paper’s ability to cover eastern North Carolina. little information is readily available to voters on before making an endorsement. Woronoff firmly to severe storms that had hit the area before local races. The local newspaper is usually the believes that endorsements are an important way Matthew’s arrival, and it took two weeks for Dan Barkin, managing editor of The News & only one covering the election of officials like his paper can be a resource for its community, the floodwaters to subside once the storm had Observer, noted that the paper has not employed city council members, county commissioners, noting that the paper’s leadership and staff passed. Areas of Fayetteville and Whiteville a full-time reporter in Eastern North Carolina in district judges, and state representatives. Metro “believe, to our core, that we exist to serve were also flooded by the storms, stretching their the past decade and that the paper’s “focus on newspapers, especially as newsroom cutbacks our community. Too many media companies reporting staffs thin as they tried to cover both Eastern NC shifted years ago to a focus on the occur, have minimal capacity to cover candidates today have that reversed, and they think the the disaster and the election simultaneously. Triangle – particularly Wake County.” outside their central areas of readership. For community exists to provide them a living, example, The Fayetteville Observer limited its and that has been the Wall Street corporate In response to a reader’s question that asked Barkin also cited limited resources at smaller candidate Q&A’s to districts that were at least ownership of our newspapers.” if The Fayetteville Observer could publish its local newspapers as a threat to investigative partly located in Cumberland County, and The election guide earlier, Alan Wooten, an editor, journalism. Local papers “try to do a good job News & Observer had minimal coverage of races Early Voting and the Need for Early wrote, “for the most part, the Observer prints the within their resource constraints,” he said, “but outside its delivery area in the Raleigh-Durham- voter guide near the beginning of early voting. there isn't any of what I would call watchdog or Information Chapel Hill area. This year, it was pushed back a week because of accountability reporting. When this is absent, As more voters go to the polls earlier, our responsibilities covering Hurricane Matthew.” local government officials operate in a different Only one of the newspapers in the analysis – newspapers must adjust their coverage to Similarly, Les High of The News Reporter also environment than their counterparts in urban The Pilot – published candidate endorsements, accommodate their readers’ need for timely attributed his paper’s late coverage, at least in areas, and so – without anyone really looking which follows a national trend of newspapers information (e.g. earlier endorsements). In the part, to the flooding. over their shoulders, looking at records, available abandoning the practice of writing endorsements. 2012 election, about a third of all U.S. votes to follow up tips – they can fall into bad habits.” This shift sometimes comes at the behest of were cast before Election Day, and the number of The importance of early voting in North Carolina their absentee parent companies. Halifax Media early voters more than doubled in North Carolina was compounded by efforts to require voter Group, for instance, which was acquired by New between 2004 and 2012. In some counties, as identification and restrict early voting. In July, Media/GateHouse in 2014, had adopted a no- many as two out of three voters had already a federal appeals court struck down a state law endorsement policy for all of its publications. voted before Election Day 2016. However, many that required photo identification in order to FayettevilleFayetteville Observer Observer WhitevilleWhiteville News Reporter News ReporterRobesonianRobesonianLaurinburgLaurinburg Exchange ExchangeThe PilotThe Pilot
70 70 66 66
60 60 24 2016 Elections: How Five Papers Covered State and Local Races Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 25 50 50
40 40 37 37 be eligible to vote and reduced the number of covering the ruling, both The Pilot and The Both papers, however, share an important published its editorial endorsements and Q&A’s 30 30 27 27 30early voting days to 1025 from25 17,27 among other Fayetteville Observer relied on reports from characteristic: They have owners who live in their before the start of early voting on October 20. 22 22 20 20things. The court said the bill, “targets African-18 18 non-staff sources, The News & Observer and The respective towns. As David Woronoff, the part- Woronoff said the editorial staff interviewed 14 14 14 14 Americans with almost surgical precision.” Even Associated Press,11 respectively.11 owner and publisher of The Pilot, noted, “Twenty each of the candidates and talked with experts 10 10 9 10 9 10 8 8 8 8 10 10after the ruling, county boards6 of election,6 which6 6 8 8 years ago when the newspaper came out, there in the field before making recommendations. 4 4 6 6 3 43 3 4 3 were2 all controlled22 1 2 1 by Republicans, still sought,2 2 The Independents:1 2 1 2 2 The1 2News1 3 Reporter3 were 15 people lined up outside my door, either It endorsed a total of 20 races, ranging from 0 0 to limitWeek early1Week voting1 asWeek much 2Week as 2possibleWeek during 3Week 3 Weekand 4TheWeek 4Pilot Week 5Week 5 Week 6Week 6 mad about something we had written, mad about statewide offices like governor, down to local theOctober 2016October 1-8 election. 1-8 TheOctober NorthOctober 9-15 Carolina 9-15 October RepublicanOctober 16-22 16-22 OctoberOctober 23-29 23-29 Oct. 30 Oct.- Nov. 30 5 - Nov. 5NovemberNovember 6-10 6-10 something we hadn’t written, or happy about Board of Education members. The paper also Party sent suggestions on how best to limit early The two independently owned newspapers in our something we had done.” While he noted that wrote the longest election-related stories, on voting. Dallas Woodhouse, the North Carolina analysis demonstrated their commitment to their community members might not have the same average, of any of the papers in the analysis. Republican Party’s executive director, wrote in an communities by covering local elections in great passion for the newspaper that they did two email, “Republicans can and should make party depth, publishing Q&A’s earlier and using their decades ago, his door remains open to readers. When speaking about his paper’s campaign FayettevilleFayetteville Observer Observer WhitevilleWhiteville News Reporter News ReporterRobesonianRobesonianLaurinburgLaurinburg Exchange ExchangeThe PilotThe Pilot line changes to early voting.” Suggestions in his editorial voices to set the agenda. coverage, Woronoff said, “I feel like any email included limiting the number of polling Les High, who currently serves as The News subscriber to The Pilot, when they walk into the 30 sites,30 eliminating Sunday voting, and closing The two newspapers are located in distinct Reporter’s editor, has emphasized the importance voting booth, they ought to know every candidate college campus voting sites. A GOP press release communities. Columbus County, home of The of maintaining its semi-weekly printing. He said just by virtue of reading the newspaper, and 25 on25 November 6 found the decline in early voting News Reporter, has a significantly higher poverty that cutting production to one day per week “was I take it as an affront if we don’t uphold that among African-Americans, and the increase in rate, with one in21 four21 people living below the drastic and would disrupt loyal reader habits. So, bargain.” 20 20 white20 early voters, to be “encouraging.” poverty line while Moore County, 18home 18of The I only want to do that as a last resort.” Pilot, has a poverty rate in line with the U.S. The News Reporter wrote the next longest 15 The15 Cape Fear region was at the center of this average (15.5 percent). Columbus County is These quotes stand in stark contrast to election-related stories and, despite being heavily effort: Scotland and Columbus counties both largely composed of farmland, factory sites, comments from Michael Reed, CEO of New affected by flooding, published its candidate 10 10 8 and 8swamps. Moore County, on the other hand, Media/GateHouse, after the company sold two Q&A’s before the other three papers in the kept early voting sites closed on Saturdays7 7 and 78 7 7 7 7 7 6 7 6 newspapers in Nebraska: “[W]e did not see the analysis. However, nearly a third of voters in Sundays while Moore5 County5 kept its precincts 5 5 is filled with golf courses, horse stables, and 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 44 4 4 4 4 Grand Island operation as a good strategic or Columbus County had already cast their ballots closed3 3only 2on2 Sundays.2 2 Additionally,3 3Moore3 3 2 2retirement2 2communities,2 2 in addition2 2 to its rural 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 geographic fit, and felt we could redeploy the by the time the final Q&A was published. Les and Cumberland0 0 counties0 were0 0 found0 in a farming areas. The Pilot also has about twice 0 0 capital more effectively elsewhere.” He goes on High said that the paper “would have tried to lawsuitWeek brought 1Week 1by the WeekNAACP 2Week to be2 illegallyWeek 3Week 3 as Weekmany 4Week newsroom 4 Weekstaff 5membersWeek 5 as WeekThe News6Week 6 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 to say that the company never intended to hold have done that earlier, but due to the storm and purgingOctober namesOctober 1-8 from1-8 Octoberthe voterOctober 9-15 rolls. 9-15 WhenOctober October 16-22 16-22 OctoberReporter.October 23-29 23-29 Oct. 30 Oct.- Nov. 30 5 - Nov. 5 NovemberNovember 6-10 6-10 on to the newspaper, “It was always our intention some unexpected health emergencies,” it was when we recently acquired several properties unable to print the Q&A’s before early voting from Morris Communications to dispose of the began. EARLY VOTING TURNOUT AND Q&A PUBLICATION DATE Yankton [SD] operation.” Though the paper did not endorse any OctoberOctober NovemberNovember______The Pilot and The News Reporter both publish candidates, it wrote three editorials on the 5 6 75 86 97 108 119 1210 1311 1412 1513 1614 1715 1816 1917 2018 2119 2220 2321 2422 2523 2624 2725 2826 2927 3028 3129 301 312 31 42 53 64 75 86 7 8 two times a week – less frequently than the three election. The first appeared on October 31 and 100 100 investment-owned newspapers in this analysis, called for civility during a tumultuous election. 59 62 6259 6262 62 62 The PilotThe Pilot 43 48 5343 48 53 29 33 3329 3833 33 38 43 which publish five, six, and seven times a week. The second, published the day before the Percentage of all county voters 18 22 2418 22 24 29 33 33 5 8 105 108 1410 10 14 18 who had cast ballots by given date. 5 8 10 10 As a result, the independent papers rely on their election, encouraged voters to exercise their 100 100 own staff writers to fill their pages, not on wire civic right and duty. The third, printed two days The NewsThe News 55 55 5555 55 55 services. after the election, wrote about the rural-urban 39 44 5239 44 52 55 55 55 ReporterReporter 31 33 31 33 39 44 Reporter 17 23 2817 2823 28 28 28 31 divide in North Carolina that helped propel 4 6 64 6 96 126 9 12 17 4 6 6 6 The News Reporter received the Pulitzer Prize’s Trump to victory and called on leaders in Raleigh 100 100 coveted Public Service award in 1953 for its and Washington to listen to the needs of rural The The 68 68 6868 68 68 63 63 68 68 68 coverage of and editorials on Ku Klux Klan FayettevilleFayetteville 46 51 5646 51 56 counties, like Columbus, to help foster equitable Fayetteville 33 35 3833 4135 38 41 46 ObserverObserver 24 28 24 28 33 35 activities in Columbus County. The High family Observer 10 10 10 1510 2010 15 20 growth for all of America. 6 6 10 10 10 has been running the paper since Jim High 100 100 took over in 1958 after the death of his father- The Fayetteville Observer The The The 44 46 4644 4646 46 46 in-law. Les High, Jim’s son, said they had the RobesonianRobesonian 31 37 31 37 44 46 46 46 Robesonian 26 26 31 37 7 9 117 129 1711 1812 2017 18 20 opportunity to sell the paper, but rejected “a nice Cumberland County is home to Fort Bragg, 2 4 42 4 64 4 6 7 9 11 12 offer we got to sell out to a chain in the 1980s. I the world’s largest military base, which serves 100 100 The The think we made the right decision.” more than 50,000 active-duty soldiers and The 59 64 6459 6464 64 64 LaurinburgLaurinburg 43 47 5243 47 52 their families in addition to a large network Laurinburg 30 34 3430 34 3934 34 39 43 ExchangeExchange 16 21 2616 21 26 30 Exchange 6 11 116 11 11 11 16 The Pilot, which recently won awards from the of contractors and a significant population National Newspaper Association for its editorials, of military retirees. The base’s presence has Days Q&A Published Start of EarlyStart Votingof Early Voting ElectionElection Day Day
Days Days Q&As Q&As Published Published Days Days with with no Early no Vo9ng Early Vo9ng Days Days Endorsements Endorsements and and Q&As Published Q&As Published Days Q&As PublishedX X Days with no Early Vo9ng 26 2016 Elections: How Five Papers Covered State and Local Races Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 27
bolstered the economy and created a diverse The Robesonian and The Laurinburg The Laurinburg Exchange published a single community. Given the importance of federal Exchange unsigned editorial on the election on October government policies, The Fayetteville Observer 25, when the paper urged its readers to has robust coverage of national politics – it is Under ownership and management by the exercise their right to vote. Instead of focusing the only one of the five papers that dedicated investment firm, Civitas, both the Robesonian on important local elections, the Exchange significant staff resources to covering federal and The Laurinburg Exchange in Robeson and referenced the state and federal elections, elections. Scotland Counties, have experienced several writing, “We hope voters will take the time to rounds of cost cutting in recent years. Today, the cast those ballots. It’s important to do so every Managing editor Matt Leclercq noted, “We look two newspapers have thinly staffed newsrooms time elections roll around, but this year, with the at world news a little differently than most other that rely heavily on wire service reports. The presidential and gubernatorial races and a hotly papers our size because of what’s happening Robesonian has 4.5 full-time-equivalent non- contested U.S. Senate race, that makes voting around the world can directly affect our sports newsroom staff members while The imperative.” community.” Laurinburg Exchange has just 2.5. Despite the small staffs, the Robesonian prints six days a The Robesonian wrote three unsigned editorials Until its sale to New Media/GateHouse, the week. The Exchange publishes five days a week. on the election – the first praised Governor Observer had been owned by the same family McCrory’s response to the flooding and wondered for four generations until this past summer. The The Robesonian published nearly five times as if it might help him defeat Roy Cooper in his family worked hard to find a way to keep the many wire service reports on election-related re-election bid. The second editorial, published paper independent and profitable, but ultimately, topics than it did staff-written articles, with two days before the election, was titled, “Sorry the pressures mounted and Broadwell, the most wire reports having a national focus. The choices heighten need to cast a ballot.” In an paper’s former owner and publisher, decided to Laurinburg Exchange also published more wire effort to encourage readers to vote, the editorial sell. “You can imagine the decision to sell. I was service reports on the election than staff-written wrote about the shortcomings of both presidential a fourth-generation member of the family and pieces. candidates that made them unfit for the office. the only one working there at the time. [It] was The final editorial, published the day after the painful,” Broadwell said. “A consultant came in … The Robesonian, like The Fayetteville Observer election, was written before the outcome was and said, ‘Publishing a newspaper these days is and The News Reporter, was heavily affected by known, but called for unity in the wake of the not for the faint of heart.’” the flooding that came in the wake of Hurricane result. Matthew. Lumberton, the home of the paper, It takes time for a new owner to fully implement was flooded for weeks after the storm, and Douglas said the paper has not historically its operational strategy, and New Media/ the paper’s offices were rendered unusable. endorsed candidates and has not done so during GateHouse had only owned the Observer for According to the paper’s editor, Donnie Douglas, his time with the paper, which he joined in 1996. a couple of months before the election. So, in while the flooding made it difficult to cover many ways, The Fayetteville Observer covered Matthew’s wake, it had minimal impact on its Conclusion the election as it had in recent years. It was coverage of local campaigns. the most prolific of the five newspapers in this Even before the sale, The Fayetteville Observer analysis, publishing the most staff-written articles The staff has been steadily shrinking in recent had been forced to cut back its reporting of about the campaign and roughly three times years – it now has about a third of the 18 the ten counties in the Cape Fear Region, as many staff-written stories as wire service newsroom staff members it had in 1996 – and and concentrate on covering issues related to stories. Given that it is the only paper that prints Douglas attributes its relatively shallow coverage Cumberland County and Ft. Bragg. This has seven days a week and has more than double of local races to this decline. “If you really want put greater pressure on the local community the staff of the next-largest newsroom, its ability to dig deep, you’re not going to get it from us. newspapers in the region, which are also to cover more is not surprising. The paper also You’re going to have to do that yourself,” he said. under financial strain, to cover local issues and had the most robust online resources for voters “I think it’s really a staffing thing. We’re in a elections. In this analysis, the two independently and provided a list of candidates in all contested perpetual position of trying to fill the paper.” owned newspapers – the Pilot and the News races in the Cape Fear region. However, given the Reporter – covered local races in greater detail cutback in regional reporting that had occurred The Robesonian published few staff-written than their investment-owned peers – the before the sale to New Media/GateHouse, the articles on the election until the week starting Robesonian and The Laurinburg Exchange. They Observer only had significant detail on races in October 24. The Laurinburg Exchange, which not only dedicated more space to staff-written Cumberland County. Voters in Columbus, Moore, is located in an area that escaped Matthew articles about state and local elections, but they Robeson, and Scotland counties needed to rely relatively unscathed, was able to start covering also used the editorials to voice opinions on the on local newspapers for detailed information on the campaigns earlier. However, neither paper race. their local races. published a candidate Q&A until 40 percent of voters in each county had already cast their Research Specialist Cody Allen contributed to this votes. article. Local Journalism in the Aftermath of 28 Hurricane Matthew Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 29
The challenges differed from county-to-county, aftermath in the Exchange.) The Observer depending on the severity of the flooding editorials focused on issues that required specific and local circumstances. The hardest hit policy action, including one on the dangers of Hurricane Matthew hit eastern North Carolina The Cape Fear Region: Coping with areas included Robeson County (home of the crumbling infrastructure, such as dams, and on Saturday, October 8, with an unexpected and Covering a Disaster Robesonian) and Columbus County (home of the another on funding recovery with money from ferocity, dumping as much as a foot of rain on Whiteville News Reporter), both of which faced the state’s rainy day fund. The News Reporter the region and leaving reporters scrambling to Recovery from a disaster such as Matthew is historic flooding of towns and communities along wrote an editorial documenting long-term cover widespread damage. In the days after the slow and multifaceted, requiring significant the Lumber River. The Cape Fear Rivers also drainage issues and another highlighted the need storm, the weather was beautiful – moderate coordination among municipal and county flooded in Cumberland (home of the Observer). to restructure federal disaster relief to small temperatures and plenty of sun – which made governments, state departments, and federal Both Cumberland and Moore County (home of businesses. The Pilot editorials focused on past the flooding seem even more surreal. A natural agencies. Water systems were badly corrupted, the Pilot) dealt with the week-long threat of a failures to secure the ailing Woodlake Dam that disaster was unfolding under clear skies. schools were closed, roads were destroyed, dam collapsing on a lake that bordered the two threatened to collapse and flood parts of Moore livestock and crop damage was extensive, and The staff of the locally owned News Reporter in counties. Flooding was least severe in Scotland and Cumberland Counties. thousands were displaced from their homes. County (home of The Laurinburg Exchange). Whiteville, a small town in southeastern North The Digital Editions: All three of the papers Carolina, had to react quickly to cover the effects In all, flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew The analysis of coverage in these papers revealed in the most heavily impacted counties relied on of the storm. Les High, the paper’s editor, had produced an estimated $1.5 billion in damage the following: digital media to keep residents up-to-date. “The begun the weekend visiting his daughters at the to over 100,000 homes, businesses, and tools that we have at our disposal to report are University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 145 government buildings and caused more than two Number of stories published: The Observer completely different from what we had (recently) miles away. As he attempted to travel back home dozen deaths in eastern North Carolina. National published the most staff-written stories on flood- – social media, videos, a more engaging mobile on Saturday, he soon discovered the roads east news organizations – such as NBC and The New related topics – twice as many as The News site,” said Matt Leclerq, managing editor of were flooded, so he returned to his hotel room York Times – rushed in to cover the disaster. But Reporter and The Robesonian. This perhaps is not the Observer. The Robesonian was constantly and began assigning stories. When he finally community newspapers in the region were on surprising, given that The Fayetteville Observer updating its website, as well as its Facebook made it home to Whiteville Sunday night, he the front lines and were the first to arrive on the is the only paper in the area that publishes account. Les High, editor of the News Reporter, found a staff that was determined to meet its scene. seven days a week and tries to cover major said, “We’ve gotten as much positive feedback Monday deadline. news events in the 10 counties that comprise the from both subscribers and nonsubscribers for Much of the Cape Fear region is economically Cape Fear region, which includes Robeson and One of the paper’s reporters had 14 inches of vulnerable, suffering from high poverty rates, what we did digitally as we did for what we did in Columbus counties. It also has more than three print.” water in his house, but he managed to write under-performing public schools, and poor times as many newsroom staff members as the more than 1,000 words on the storm, as well health. In Robeson and Scotland counties, other two smaller community papers. The News The Independent Papers as his weekly column. Others had to make for example, one out of three residents lives in Reporter and The Robesonian each published their way around flooded roads to get to the poverty. Because of these vulnerabilities, the the same number of staff-written articles on The two independently owned newspapers in paper’s makeshift newsroom – High’s generator- local newspaper is the primary source of news the flooding, even though the News Reporter our analysis – the News Reporter and The Pilot powered home. The small team worked through and information in many of the communities is printed only twice weekly compared with the – covered local flooding in great depth and the night so they could electronically deliver in eastern North Carolina. Through the stories Robesonian, which publishes six times a week. used their editorial voices to press an agenda their newspaper on Monday morning to The their editors choose to cover and the editorials for moving forward on major policy and funding Fayetteville Observer, which had agreed to print they write, local papers can provide an historical Length of stories: The News Reporter wrote issues. the edition. The copies of Monday’s paper were record of events, as well as a roadmap to articles that provided the greatest in-depth driven from Fayetteville to Whiteville in a rented recovery, during times of disaster. coverage. Twelve of the 20 longest staff-written The two newspapers cover very different truck late that afternoon, and the staff began stories by word count appeared in the News communities. In Columbus County, home of the delivering to as many homes as possible. The This article explores how five area newspapers Reporter. The Fayetteville Observer published News Reporter, one in four residents lives below four journalists on the paper published over a dealt with the challenge of documenting the five of the longest stories and The Pilot published the poverty line. In contrast, in Moore County, dozen articles related to the storm in the Monday aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. This analysis the other three long articles. The News Reporter home of the Pilot, only 15 percent of residents edition, including the first story to appear in covers the five papers profiled in the previous and the Pilot had the most average words per live in poverty – a rate that is comparable to any paper or news outlet about Fair Bluff, a article on the 2016 elections: two independent flood-related story. Stories in the other three the U.S. average. Moore County is known for community of 1,000 in southern Columbus newspapers (The News Reporter in Whiteville and newspapers were considerably shorter. its golf courses, horse stables and retirement County. By Monday, the entire downtown area of The Pilot in Southern Pines); and three papers communities. The Pilot has twice as many that picturesque community, which dated back to owned by investment firms (The Robesonian Editorials: While the Observer, News Reporter, newsroom staff members – eight – as the News the early 19th century, was submerged under the in Lumberton and The Laurinburg Exchange, and Pilot all published editorials that called Reporter. waters of the swollen Lumber River. owned by Civitas) and The Fayetteville Observer for specific actions or policies, the editorials (a previously independent paper purchased by in Robesonian generically called for additional The owners of both papers live in their respective New Media/Gatehouse in August 2016.) Data for resources to help with the recovery, without communities. “We believe, to our core, that this analysis was collected over six weeks, from prioritizing what was most urgently needed. we exist to serve our community,” said David October 1st-November 10th 2016. (There were no editorials on the hurricane Woronoff, part-owner and publisher of the Pilot. 30 Local Journalism in the Aftermath of Hurricane Matthew Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 31
STAFF-WRITTEN ARTICLES COVERING HURRICANE MATTHEW days compared with the Lumber River in Robeson have taken care of each other, pushing aside Fayetteville Observer Whiteville News Reporter Robesonian Laurinburg Exchange The Pilot County, which overflowed its banks for more the petty things that separate us, such as race FayettevilleFayetteville Observer Observer WhitevilleWhiteville News News Reporter Reporter RobesonianRobesonian LaurinburgLaurinburg Exchange Exchange The ThePilot Pilot than two weeks. The Observer published stories and economic status. As a newspaper, we have 70 66 on the flooding in Robeson County and other struggled to tell those stories, overwhelmed 70 70 Hurricane Matthew parts of the Cape Fear region, and the potential by much that has conspired against our ability 66made66 landfall on Oct. 8 60 breach of the Woodlake Dam in Moore County. to report the news — a newsroom that still is 60 60 However, the majority of its reporting focused on not full staff, the loss of our building, our press 50 50 50 the damage and recovery efforts in Cumberland temporarily disabled and, immediately following 40 37 County. Editorials in the Observer focused on the the storm, the loss of internet and power that 40 40 37 37 need to prevent future floods in the Cape Fear made (sic) restricted the delivery of news to 30 25 27 region and on funding relief efforts for distressed robesonian.com and social media.” 30 30 27 27 25 25 22 communities, such as Lumberton in Robeson 20 22 22 18 20 20 14 18 18 14 County. Conclusion 14 14 10 14 14 9 10 11 10 11 11 8 8 10 10 6 9 109 10 6 A story in The New York Times on October 10 10 2 4 26 6 6 6 2 8 88 8 2 2 3 4 3 The Robesonian and its staff faced the greatest 4 4 1 1 3 3 4 34 3 1 2 2 2 120 1 2 2 1 21 2 2 12 1 challenges. Several staff members were displaced 12, 2016 described the devastation along the 0 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 by the flooding and forced to live in shelters. The “lovingly maintained main drag” of Fair Bluff. WeekWeek 1 1 WeekWeek 2 2 WeekWeek 3 3 WeekWeek 4 4 WeekWeek 5 5 WeekWeek 6 6 October 1-8 October 9-15 October 16-22 October 23-29 Oct. 30 - Nov. 5 November 6-10 There was waist-high water on Main Street. OctoberOctober 1-8 1-8 OctoberOctober 9-15 9-15 OctoberOctober 16-22 16-22 OctoberOctober 23-29 23-29 Oct. Oct.30 - 30Nov. - Nov.5 5 NovemberNovember 6-10 6-10 newspaper’s offices were destroyed and out of *Excludes editorials and articles not written by staff members. commission. Travel was severely limited with “Most of the awnings and street lamps were the downtown area of Lumberton under water for eerily intact, even as merchandise and storm 10/ 10 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/10 1010/ 10/10/“Too10/ 10/many7 10//810/ media10/910/ 10/companies1010/ 10/1110/ 10/ 12today10/ 10/1310/ have10/1410/ that10/15 10/ 10/1610/ 10/1710/Another10/1810/ 10/ 19editorial10/ 10/2010/ 10/argued2110/ 10/22 that23 local24 and 25state more than a week. “We were challenged by [the debris floated through businesses like the Ellis 7 7/8 /89 9 10 1011 1112 1213 1314 1415 1516 1617 1718 1819 1920 2021 2122 2223 2324 2425 25 Meares and Son hardware store and community Lumber Riverreversed, and they think the community exists to agencies needed to work together to address No Data flooding] – I think we responded very well,” said LumberLumber River River @ Lumbertonprovide them a living, and that has been the Wall long-term drainage issues in ColumbusNo DataNo Data County Donnie Douglas, editor of the Robesonian. pillars like town hall.” No Flood @ Lumberton@ Lumberton Street corporate ownership of our newspapers.” that would prevent significant flooding in the Cape Fear @ No FloodNo Flood The flood waters have long since receded. But CapeCape Fear Fear@ @ Fayetteville future. Action Stage Both the Robesonian and the News Reporter have FayettevilleFayetteville ActionAction Stage Stage four full-time journalists. Both papers faced the citizens of Fair Bluff, like residents of many Tar River @ The Pilot and The News Reporter both publish Minor Tar RiverTar River @ @ Rocky Mount MinorMinor similar hardships, including loss of their offices other communities in eastern North Carolina, two times a week – less frequently than the three Although Moore County suffered minimal damageModerate RockyRocky Mount Mount and their printing presses. They published the are still dealing with the consequences of Tar River @ investment-owned newspapers in this analysis, from the storm, The Pilot wroteModerate a Moderatenumber of Major Tar RiverTar River @ @ Tarboro same number of staff-written stories on the Hurricane Matthew. Mold damage caused by which publish five, six, and seven times a week. articles on the Woodlake Dam,Major whichMajor was in TarboroTarboro the flood waters has rendered all the homes and Neuse RiverAs @ a result, the independent papers rely on their danger of being breached as the lake rose. The flooding. But the stories in the Robesonian, NeuseNeuse River River @ @ Smithfield own staff writers to fill their pages, not on the news stories provided continuous updates on which is published six times a week, were much businesses in downtown Fair Bluff and along the SmithfieldSmithfield Neuse Riverwire @ services. Publishing less frequently also the dam’s status, as well as in-depth context shorter than those in the twice weekly News Lumber River uninhabitable. Residents wonder NeuseNeuse River River @ @ Goldsboro allowed the reporters to write longer, more in- and history on the need for longstanding need Reporter and tended to focus on specific events whether they should rebuild or abandon their GoldsboroGoldsboro Neuse Riverdepth @ stories about the hurricane. for repairs. A Pilot editorial chastised the dam’s or personal stories of hardship and compassion, once picturesque downtown and move to higher NeuseNeuse River River @ @ Kinston owners for inaction. instead of providing analysis or context to the ground. KinstonKinston The extensive coverage of Hurricane Matthew larger recovery challenges. provided by the News Reporter is emblematic of The Investment-Owned Papers The national, state and regional news the commitment the paper makes to being the Asked if his paper would have been able to cover organizations that covered the flooding have most comprehensive and credible source of news Two of the three investment-owned papers – the storm’s aftermath in greater depth with more moved on, in pursuit of major stories in other parts of the country. But the Whiteville News and information about Columbus County.October For the Observer and the RobesonianNovember – devoted staff, Douglas said, “I think so – we still haven’t Reporter continues its vigil, chronicling the day- example,5 6 7 the8 9flooding10October11October12 in13 Fair14 15Bluff,16 17a town18 19 20about21 22 23 24considerable25 26 27 28November29 spaceNovember30 31 and1 2staff3 to4 covering5 6 7 8the9 10 told the story about people getting in boats and 5 65 76 87 98 109 1110201211 miles13121413 west1514 1615 of1716 Whiteville,1817 19182019 2120 received22212322 2423 sparse25242625 27 26 28272928 3029 3130flooding131 21 32 4disaster.3 54 65 7 6But87 the98 10 9stories10 in these two rescuing folks.” He continued, “Right now, I to-day lives of the citizens of Fair Bluff while also X X X X 100 coverage in the Fayetteville Observer, which papers tended to be100 less100 in-depth – and providePercent of all voters struggle to put out the paper every day.” providing information and data that will help X X X X X XX X 48 53 59 62 62 62 The Pilot 59 6259 6262 623862 4362 Percent Percent of of all all voters voters who had cast ballots residents make difficult decisions about the fate relied on a correspondent from the Tabor-Loris less1843 2248 43context245348 2953 33– than33 the stories that appeared The ThePilot Pilot 5 298 331029 331033 381433 38 who who had had cast cast ballots ballots In an editorial published on October 19, nine Tribune to report on the situation. In14 contrast,1814 2218 2422 24 in the independently owned Pilot and Newsin Moore County of that community. 5 85 108 1010 10 in in Moore Moore County County the News Reporter provided staff-written articles Reporter. (Scotland County was least affected100 days after the storm hit, the Robesonian X X X X 100 100 X X Percent of all voters The News by the flooding. Most of the stories55 55 in55 the acknowledged that it had been struggling to on Fair Bluff in all its editions throughoutX XX X October X XX X X XX X 39Percent 44Percent 52 of of all all voters voters who had cast ballots The TheNews News 4423 522844 285552 285555 315555 3355 report on much beyond the immediate effects of Reporter and into November. 6 6 6 9 Laurinburg3312 391733 39 Exchange focusedwho who had on had widespread cast cast ballots ballots in Columbus County ReporterReporter 17 23417 2823 2828 2828 3128 31 the storm: 4 64 66 66 96 129 12 power outages and windin damage.) in Columbus Columbus County County 100 The It also used its editorial page to address specific X X X X Percent of all voters Research Specialist Cody Allen contributed to this 100 100 63 68 68 68 The worst of Hurricane Matthew has brought out The The policy concerns. One editorial XcitedXX theX travails Fayetteville experiencedX XX 46X 51Percent significant56Percent of of all flooding, all voters voters but Fayetteville 56 336356 356863 386868 416868 68 who had cast ballots the best in many of us. We have been solicited article. FayettevilleFayetteville of small businesses seeking assistance and 1541the204641 2451Cape46 2851 Fear River recededwho who more had had cast quickly cast ballots than ballots Observer 24 28624 331028 351033 103835 38 in Cumberland County ObserverObserver advocated for changes in6 how106 10FEMA10 1010 15 10(the2015 Federal20 rivers in other parts of easternin in Cumberland Cumberland North CountyCarolina. County many times to tell the stories of compassion, 100 generosity, even bravery, as local residents Emergency Management Agency) supports them.X X The Cape Fear River100 was100 at flood XstageX forPercent six of all voters The X XX X X XX X Percent Percent of of all all voters voters 37 44 46 46 46 who had cast ballots The The 46 4646 4646 2646 31 Robesonian 6 7 9 1137 124437 1744 18 20 who who had had cast cast ballots ballots in Robeson County RobesonianRobesonian 2 4 174 18417 2018 2620 3126 31 2 42 44 44 64 76 97 119 1211 12 in in Robeson Robeson County County 100 X X X X X X The 100 100 64 64 64 Percent of all voters The The X XX X X XX X X XX X 47Percent 52Percent 59 of of all all voters voters Laurinburg 30 3459 346459 346464 643964 4364 who had cast ballots LaurinburgLaurinburg 3916 432139 472643 5247 52 who who had had cast cast ballots ballots Exchange 21 2621 30626 341130 341134 341134 34 in Scotland County ExchangeExchange 6 116 1111 1111 1611 16 in in Scotland Scotland County County Start of Early Voting Election Day StartStart of Early of Early Voting Voting ElectionElection Day Day
Days Endorsements and Q&As Published Days Q&As Published X Days with no Early Vo9ng Days Days Endorsements Endorsements and and Q&As Q&As Published Published Days Days Q&As Q&As Published PublishedX Days X Days with with no no Early Vo9ng Early Vo9ng 32 What Makes the News? TV's Coverage of Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 33 Rural Communities Justin Blankenship, Assistant Professor, Auburn University mass media have historically performed. Concurrent with the sampling process, the author Specifically, were they covering issues that developed a coding protocol that would divide helped citizens throughout the coverage area these newscasts into individual news segments Summary environmental concerns downstream. gain critical information that would inform their or stories and classify each segment based on How much time do regional television • American Idol singer Clay Aiken had eked out debate of and decisions about public policy issues the study variables. A research assistant was newscasts devote to coverage of local and state a Democratic primary victory in the Second that affect the quality of life in their community recruited and trained in applying the protocol. government, as well as public policy issues Congressional District when his closest (McCombs and Shaw, 1972)? This report Following standard practice in academic content such as education, health and the environment? opponent died unexpectedly. also examined whether these stations were analysis, a reliability sample of 10 percent of This study, which analyzed the content of • The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in performing two other community-building roles the total sample was selected and coded by news shows on three major television stations Richmond, Virginia, was considering that local news organizations have historically both the author and the research assistant in central North Carolina during one week in amendments in Virginia and North Carolina played: encouraging regional economic growth (Riffe, Lacy, & Fico, 2013). Using academically May 2014, found that more than half of all the that prohibited same-sex marriage. and fostering a sense of geographic identity accepted formulas for calculating agreement, segments concerned accidents or weather- • The North Carolina legislature was about to (Abernathy, 2014). To determine this, we it was determined that the agreement between related events, crime and courts, sports and examined: the author and research assistant was within convene a “short session” to consider pay 5 “soft” features. Only 15 percent were devoted acceptable levels. Some clarifications and raises for public school teachers, a two-year 1. Where these organizations were focusing to coverage of local or state government actions adjustments were made to the protocol to ensure budget shortfall on Medicaid and restoration their coverage across a market that includes or issues surrounding education. Almost all of better agreement, and the rest of the sample was of incentives to encourage the filming of 22 counties in two states and, the coverage centered on newsworthy events, television shows and movies in the port city coded separately. issues and people in the three most populated of Wilmington. 2. What type of coverage areas outside the large population centers were receiving. Findings cities in the coverage area – Raleigh (the state • The Federal Emergency Management Agency capital), Durham (home to Duke University) and (FEMA) denied federal aid to communities on Method For this study, news segments did not Fayetteville (home to Fort Bragg). Fewer than the coast hit by tornadoes the previous week. include weathercasts, traffic reports, teases 10 percent of the news segments were about To accomplish those goals, the author contacted and promotions. Regardless, almost 2,000 The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, events or issues in the other 19 counties in the • a third-party organization that provided video individual news segments were coded within Martin Dempsey, had warned of upcoming broadcast area, many of which are rural and clips of every newscast broadcast in the Raleigh/ the 78 newscasts. It should be noted that each layoffs at Fort Bragg, while Blue Cross impoverished. Almost all of those stories were Durham/Fayetteville market during the selected segment is not necessarily a unique story. For announced it would add 100 jobs in the human-interest features. All this raises questions dates. This proved to be almost 250 newscasts. example, the lead story at 5 p.m. may also be Fayetteville area. of how well regional stations are covering the For purposes of time, the sample was limited to the lead story at 6 p.m. One anecdotal finding issues that can affect the quality of life for • President Obama had awarded the Medal of three news stations that produced local television that the author and research assistant noted residents outside the main coverage area. Honor to an Afghanistan War veteran living in newscasts in the market, WRAL (CBS affiliate), during coding is that a news story is often Charlotte. WNCN (NBC affiliate) and WTVD (ABC affiliate). repeated several times throughout the day, and A Content Analysis of Local TV Reports Additionally, in two of the state’s poorest counties WRAL and WTVD also produce newscasts for even several times within the same newscast, in North Carolina on the fringe of the coverage area – Scotland WRAZ (FOX affiliate) and WLFL (CW affiliate), especially during morning newscasts. News and Robeson – the major story concerned an This report analyzes the content of local but these were not included. Additionally, Time segments were coded for the following attributes: attempt by state and local law enforcement television newscasts in the Raleigh-Durham- Warner Cable operated a regional cable news length, location, topic, format, whether or to crack down on illegal gaming and betting Fayetteville1 market during the week of May 10 channel in the area, but this was eliminated from not it would be considered “accountability parlors that had suddenly moved into the area. to May 17, 2014. It was, in many ways, a fairly the sample because of its larger coverage area, journalism,” and whether or not it fit into a type A separate analysis and paper looked at news typical news week, with no major disasters, which includes the Greensboro and Charlotte of accountability journalism specified by the coverage of that issue in three local papers (in natural or manmade, on the national or state metro areas. Federal Communications Commission (2011) Scotland, Robeson and Cumberland counties) level. Top national stories in The New York Times (This included beat story, investigative/enterprise and found that only the regional paper – The Among these three stations, newscasts from and on the NBC Nightly News included the health and interpretive). Fayetteville Observer in Cumberland County – each “day part” (morning, evening, and late) care crisis in the Department of Veterans Affairs, had consistently and comprehensively covered were selected. This produced a primary sample GM’s recall of its cars for ignition problems, Question 1 2 consisting of newscasts that aired at 6 a.m., the issue in both its news and editorial pages. Where is local television coverage focused in an earthquake that damaged the Washington 5 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.3 Also, the central North Carolina? Monument, and wildfires in California. Our analysis looked more broadly at what was author selected a random sample of newscasts covered by the three largest regional television that aired at other times throughout the day. This Television news segments don’t necessarily have Meanwhile, in North Carolina: 4 stations in eastern North Carolina. The purpose led to a final sample of 78 newscasts. one location associated with them. So, for the • Duke Power had begun dredging coal ash that of our analysis was to determine if local television had spilled into the Dan River and caused news stations were performing the roles that 3WNCN does not produce a 5p.m. newscast but it is the only station 5The aggregate Krippendorff’s Alpha for all variables was .71, an that produces a 7p.m. newscast. Therefore, WNCN’s 7 p.m. show acceptable score. 1 2 The Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville market is a Designated Market In our analysis, two stories originated from Robeson County, but was substituted for a 5 p.m. Area (DMA) determined by Nielsen Media Research. It was the 25th- neither was about the gaming parlors. 4Two newscasts were dropped from the sample because of technical largest market in the country at the time the data was collected. difficulties with the video files. Also, two newscasts were pre-empted Nielsen determines these markets based on the broadcast reach of by sporting events. groups of television stations by county. 34 What Makes the News? TV's Coverage of Rural Communities Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 35
purposes of this story, the location of the story LOCATION TOPICS OVERALL TOPICS IN was determined based on a few factors: Share of OTHER COUNTIES Share of Location Location Coverage Share of • The location of a reporter if this was a live Coverage Location Accidents/ Coverage segment, 23% National 31% Disasters Human/Comm. • Where the majority of the video was shot, or 27% State 17% Crime/Courts 15% Interest Where the “action” of the story took place. • Accidents/ Wake 13% Other 13% 22% Disasters Local stories were categorized based on county. Durham 13% Sports 12% Education 14% There were also categories for stories that were Counties Outside DMA 9% Human/Comm. local but could not be placed in a particular 9% Business/ Interest 12% county, stories that took place in the state of Cumberland 8% Economics State Govt. 8% North Carolina but not within the local market, International 5% Sports 11% National Govt. 7% national stories, and international stories. Finally, Multiple Counties within 4% Crime/Courts 10% DMA Business/ stories that were about statewide issues or 6% actions, common because Raleigh is the capital Economics Other 2% of North Carolina, were also placed in the “state” Education 5% State Govt. 1% category. Therefore, it should not be a surprise that City Govt. 1% City Govt. 1% coverage was heavily concentrated in these three County Govt. 0% As its name suggests, the Raleigh/Durham/ County Govt. <1% counties. Apart from Orange County (home to Fayetteville TV market has three main population the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), centers: Raleigh (located in Wake County), segments that fall into three topic categories: the rest of the market was rarely covered. Only Setting the Public Policy Agenda Durham (Durham County), and Fayetteville local government, business/economic and 168 stories – or less than 10 percent of the total (Cumberland County). Each of the three human/community interest. The vast majority of local government stories, – were about people or events in counties other stations has some sort of permanent physical which include city and county government, are than Wake, Durham and Cumberland. presence, be it a full studio or bureau, in each of The chart above illustrates the overall topic located in the three main population centers. agenda for local news coverage in the Raleigh/ Only 7 percent of local government stories are these cities. What some may find surprising is the amount of Durham/Fayetteville market. Accidents/Disasters, located in one of the other counties in the major “national” coverage. It was by far the biggest which included weather, garnered the most markets. category, almost more than news coverage of GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS OF COVERAGE coverage. A small tornado touched down in the three largest cities combined. It should be Durham and Raleigh on May 15. This accounted The FCC (2011) mentions the longstanding role noted that these stories were purely national. If for a significant number of stories in this of media outlets – especially local newspapers a station “localized” a national story (a common category. Next in volume were stories involving – in providing “accountability reporting.” The practice in which local angles or sources are used either crime or the courts. Roughly 16 percent FCC defines accountability reporting as “beat to talk about a national topic), it was coded as of all stories focused on government, including reporting, in which a journalist covers the public “local.” actions taken at the national level. meetings of local, regional, or state officials; and investigative and interpretive reporting on State government coverage accounted for the When we just look at the topics covered in ‘quality of life’ issues that affect a community, largest proportion of “state” stories. counties outside the major population areas, we Question 2 get a slightly different picture. While a fifth of LOCAL GOVERNMENT the storiesLOCAL from theLOCATION outlying regions were about LOCAL GOVERNMENT What kind of coverage are areas outside the accidents and weather disasters, 14 percent Multiple Counties Counties major population centers receiving? were about education, compared with only 5 within DMA Outside DMA While it is important to understand where news percent in the three major-market counties. This organizations are focusing their energies, not may be explained by the8% fact that the University 7% all coverage is the same. As stated above, of NorthCounties Carolina at Chapel Hill is located in 29% Wake community journalism serves three critical OrangeOutside County, DMA 19% one of the “other counties” Non-County Number of purposes: in this analysis. In fact, of the 27 education Focused 43% Wake Segments stories located in the “other counties,” two- Cumberland 33% Locations • setting the agenda for public policy debate, thirds (66.6%) were located in Orange County. Local 76 • encouraging economic growth and commerce, Additionally, a little fewer than half (44%) of State 341 • fostering a sense of geographic identity. those stories involved17% UNC in some way. National 602 27% Cumberland Durham 17% International 103 To assess how these needs were met by local television news, this analysis looked at news *Hoke, Mecklenberg, Northampton, Person, Wayne and Scot- Durham land counties had no coverage during the week sampled.
BUSINESS/ECONOMICS HUMAN/COMM INTEREST
Multiple Counties Multiple Counties within DMA within DMA 13% 13% Counties Outside DMA 11% 38% Wake 44% Counties 19% Wake Outside DMA Cumberland 11%
13% 20% 17% Cumberland Durham Durham
ACCOUNTABILITY JOURNALISM Multiple Counties within DMA
Counties 7% Outside DMA Wake 16% 27%
15% Cumberland
35%
Durham LOCAL LOCATION LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Multiple Counties Counties within DMA Outside DMA
8% 7% Counties 29% Wake Outside DMA 19% 43% Wake Cumberland 33%
17% 27% Cumberland Durham 17% Durham
BUSINESS/ECONOMICS HUMAN/COMM INTEREST
Multiple Counties LOCAL LOCATION LOCALMultiple GOVERNMENT Counties within DMA within DMA Multiple Counties Counties 13% 13% within DMA Outside DMA Counties 8% 7% Outside DMA 11% 38% Wake Counties 44%Wake Counties 36 29% 19% Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 37 WhatOutside Makes DMA the 19%News? TV's Coverage of Rural CommunitiesWake Outside DMA 11% 43% Wake Cumberland Cumberland 33% WNCN WRAL WTVD ranging from government corruption to 13% Share of Share of Share of environment and health issues.” On a deeper Location Location Location 20% Fostering a Sense of 17% Coverage Coverage Coverage level, accountability17% journalism is reporting that Cumberland Geographic Identity Accidents/ Accidents/ Accidents/ holds those in powerDurham or those27% that operate in the Durham 20% 23% 24% Durham 17% Disasters Disasters Disasters publicCumberland realm accountable to the citizens they are Finally, it would appear that, of the three Crime/Courts 13% Sports 16% Crime/Courts 16% supposed to represent. historical roles performedDurham by local news organizations, local television stations are best Other 12% Crime/Courts 15% Other 13% Similar to the topics above, a small portion of at “fostering a sense of geographic community” National Govt. 12% Other 14% Sports 12% accountability reporting takes place outside the by highlighting interesting people and events. Human/Comm. Human/Comm. Human/Comm. major population centers (16 percent). Nearly twenty percent of all human/community 10% 10% 9% Interest Interest Interest interest stories involved covering events and ACCOUNTABILITY JOURNALISM State Govt. 10% State Govt. 8% Business/ ACCOUNTABILITY JOURNALISM people outside the major population centers. 7% Economics LOCAL LOCATIONMultiple Counties LOCAL GOVERNMENT Education 7% National Govt. 5% BUSINESS/ECONOMICS HUMAN/COMM INTEREST National Govt. 6% within DMA HUMAN/COMMUNITY INTEREST Business/ Business/ 7% 4% Multiple Counties Counties Economics Economics State Govt. 6% Multiple Counties 7% Countieswithin DMA Multiple CountiesOutside DMA within DMA Wake Sports 6% Education 4% Education 5% Outside DMA 27% within DMA 16% 8% 7% Local Govt. 3% Local Govt. 1% Local Govt. 2% 13% 13% Counties Wake Counties 29% Outside DMA 19% Outside DMA 11% 38% Wake 43% Wake Number of Journalists References 15% 44% CumberlandCounties33% 19% Cumberland Wake Outside DMA As indicated by the charts above, there is little Abernathy, P. M. (2014). Saving community journalism: The path to profitability. University of North Carolina Press: Cumberland 11% difference in topics among the three stations, Chapel Hill, NC. 35% 17% despite their difference in news staff size and McCombs, M. E. and Shaw, D. L. (1972) The agenda- 13% ownership type. In fact, WNCN, which had the 27%Durham setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly. Cumberland 20% Durham 17% 17% smallest staff, produced more local government Vol.36:2. Pp. 176-187. Cumberland news than either WRAL or WTVD. It had slightly Riffe, D., Lacy, S., Fico, F. (2013). Analyzing media Encouraging Economic Growth Durham Durham Durham fewer stories focused on accidents and disasters, messages: Using quantitative content analysis in research. Eleven percent of all business/economic stories and produced a comparable amount of coverage Routlege: London. originated in one of the “other” counties in the of business/economic stories, as well as human Waldman, S. et al. (2011) The information needs of market. However, business/economic stories only Ownership interest features. communities: The changing media landscape in a broadband world. Federal Communications Commission. made up a small fraction of the total topic agenda One unique characteristic of the Raleigh/Durham/ Summary of Findings (3 percent). Fayetteville television market is that the three ACCOUNTABILITYBUSINESS/ECONOMICSBUSINESS/ECONOMICS JOURNALISM television newsHUMAN/COMM organizations represent INTEREST three In summary, our analysis found that viewers different ownership categories. WRAL is owned outside the three major counties in the coverage MultipleMultiple Counties Counties by Capitol Broadcasting Corporation, a locally area – Wake, Durham and Cumberland – received Multiple Counties within withinDMA DMA owned and operated media company that only very little coverage. Instead, residents of the within DMA owns a handful of other media entities in the outlying counties had to rely on other sources Counties 13%7% area, mostly radio stations.13% WTVD is owned by – local newspapers, local radio stations, social Wake OutsideCounties DMA 27% its network affiliate, ABC, itself a subsidiary of media, government websites, their neighbors 16% the Walt Disney Company, a multinational media Outside DMA 11% 38% Wake – for information that would help them make 44% conglomerate.Counties Finally, 19% WNCN is owned by Media critical decisions about policy issues that would Wake General,Outside a media DMA corporation consisting mostly affect the quality of life in their communities. 11% of local television stations – 72 as of August This study did not analyze which local news Cumberland 15% 6 Cumberland 2014. According to the stations’ websites , WRAL sources residents primarily relied on, or how employs 32 on-air news13% and weather journalists, “healthy” and “diverse” the news ecosystems in 20% WTVD employs 29, and WNCN employs17% 17. those outlying communities were. What seems 35% Cumberland Do locally owned organizations produce better apparent from our analysis of a week of coverage Durham Durham journalism, especially with the apparentDurham in May 2014 is that residents of more rural differences in news staff size? communities in North Carolina cannot depend on regional television to provide that information.
ACCOUNTABILITY JOURNALISM Multiple Counties within DMA
Counties 7% Outside DMA Wake 16% 27%
15% Cumberland
35%
Durham Ann Arbor: Citizenship and the Local Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 38 Newspaper 39
Amy Maestas, Knight-Wallace Fellow, University of Michigan that a newspaper in a college town like Ann Arbor he says. ‘Ann Arbor is a unique community, a would be among the first casualties. thought leader. If there was ever a place to try a direction based on the power of the Internet and At Slauson Middle School on the west side of Ann dramatic way,” says Mary Morgan, executive “Disbelief. Shell-shocked. A sense of being tapping into the vibrancy of the community, it Arbor, Michigan, on Election Day 2016, a local director of The CivCity Initiative, which includes abandoned. A general freak-out,” Morgan said would be Ann Arbor.’” nonprofit that works to foster civic engagement Ann Arbor Votes. in describing Ann Arbor residents’ reaction to had set up for a Party at the Polls – a table full of learning their daily newspaper was ceasing Ann Arbor is a unique place in Michigan, much of games and information related to the local ballot. Morgan’s characterization is particularly poignant. publication in July 2009. that due to the University of Michigan’s presence. One voter, a nurse at the University of Michigan, She is a former business and opinion editor More than 70 percent of residents 25 and older arrived and immediately noticed campaign signs for the erstwhile Ann Arbor News. Since the Advance’s vision was to march away from a print have a college degree. It consistently has one of outside the school. She walked up to the Ann daily newspaper closed almost eight years ago, legacy and toward a digital solution. the lowest jobless rates in that state. Ann Arbor Arbor Votes party table. What were these signs Morgan has watched how it has affected civic also is reliably liberal, so much so that people At the time, Ann Arbor News’ circulation was and who were these people? She had come only participation, government accountability and frequently regard it as a bubble in the state. 45,147 daily and 59,997 Sunday, according to to vote for the president of the United States, she community cohesion. Some new publications the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Leadership at said; she had no idea the ballot included races for have come and most have gone, victims of a So Advance had some reasons to believe its the News and at Advance cited myriad reasons city, county and Congressional races were taking struggling industry. pioneering plan for newspapers would succeed in for the declining revenue, chief among them place. Ann Arbor, which was the first of the company’s Citizen journalists have stepped in to fill voids the huge loss of classified advertising due to markets to undergo the change. Advance closed Some might call this voter apathy. But in Ann left by a continually shrinking staff at a digital- Craigslist. The paper’s publisher at the time, the Ann Arbor News and replaced it with a new Arbor, with a population of 117,000, people first news outlet. They chronicle school board Laurel Champion, told The Associated Press that print and online publication – AnnArbor.com. The call this a byproduct of a disappeared daily meetings on blogs and live-tweet city council the “seven-day-a-week print model just is not print edition would be delivered twice a week newspaper, its ever-struggling digital edition meetings. But many cannot and do not fill the sustainable here.” to subscribers; the website would be updated and a fragmented information environment. critical role of trained journalists: watchdogs of around the clock. Both platforms shared the “We have very low home ownership. The Its citizens face an ongoing challenge to find government. same name. People who worked at the paper population is transient and young. Those relevant, timely and in-depth news in a city that were able to apply for a job at AnnArbor.com. “Somebody needs to be keeping an eye demographics have worked against us,” she said. prides itself on being highly educated, politically on government officials, on businesses, on Reaction was strong and swift not only in Ann progressive and above average in household Steve Newhouse, a spokesman for the family, whatever,” says Jim McBee, co-founder The Ann Arbor; it was the same in the news industry. The income. That a professional medical worker at put a different angle on it. He told the Ann Arbor Magazine, a monthly publication. “I think it’s a closure of the daily newspaper appears to be the a top public university in the U.S. thought she Observer, a longstanding monthly magazine, glorious golden age for graft and corruption.” most written-about and analyzed in the industry. had only to vote for the nation’s president is, in May 2009 “that Ann Arbor was the perfect Numerous general-interest and journalism residents say, frustratingly common. place to create a new media enterprise. ‘We Charting a Digital Course industry newspapers and magazines published did research that bore out what we suspected,’ “To me, the fact that you live in a community The Ann Arbor News had been Ann Arbor’s daily stories. “Ann Arbor kills its newspaper – to save and the local election is not even part of the newspaper since 1835. For several years, three ANN ARBOR’S LIBERAL MAKEUP it” was the headline on Time magazine’s story. Its community dialogue says we are failing in a Booth brothers owned it, along with seven other subhead: “Ann Arbor is the first big town to lose community newspapers in Michigan. Booth its daily paper – now it’s a laboratory for new FAST FACTS OF Newspapers sold them in 1976 to Advance media.” ANN ARBOR Publications Inc. for a then-record $305 million. Population The Newhouse family owns Advance. It is No. The paper’s headline on its own story said: 117,070 (2015) 11 on the list of 25-largest companies that “AnnArbor.com will offer more than local news to own newspapers, according to the Center for an Internet savvy community.” The online version Median household income Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. will be will “aggregate information about local $55,990 (2015) social and personal interests in the place where Advance largely left the Ann Arbor News intact people spend the most time: the Internet.” Education as a daily newspaper that was printed and 71.9% Bachelor’s degree or higher, delivered in the afternoon Monday through ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’ 25 years and older Friday and the morning on the weekends. Then Unemployment Executives at Advance would not comment for 2008 came – a financial crisis, a recession and 2.6% (December 2016) this story about why Ann Arbor was selected to the digital disruption of the newspaper industry. be the first paper to undergo its new direction, By 2009, print newspapers felt the downturn in Race nor would they say if their vision has been the economy; print advertising sales dropped 73% White alone In the 2016 General Election, President Donald Trump narrowly successful. The print edition’s weekday circulation 7.7% Black alone precipitously. If it was a surprise that daily won the state of Michigan. Washtenaw County, where Ann was 20,857 in 2015, according to the Alliance for 14.4% Asian alone newspapers in large cities such as Seattle and Arbor is located, is one of only eight counties in the state that 3.6% Two or more races gave the majority vote to Hillary Clinton. Audited Media. Its content is a mix of state and 70.4% White alone, not Hispanic or Latino Denver closed, it was an even bigger surprise Source: Washtenaw County Clerk/Register local news, which includes government coverage Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth 40 Ann Arbor: Citizenship and the Local Newspaper Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 41
couple, both trained and experienced journalists local elections declines. who have worked for other newspapers, carried Ann Arbor native Ben Connor Barrie started his the watchdog role, digging into agendas and blog, Damn Arbor, in 2010 when he moved back following the money. Morgan says the online to the city to attend graduate school. He felt – newspaper was financially stable, but six and still does – that the Ann Arbor News ignored years in, the couple burned out and closed the the students in the community. Chronicle. Accountability Both Ways “It’s insulting to me as a news consumer,” he says. Armentrout started her blog, Local in Ann Arbor, about the same time the Ann Arbor News closed Connor Barrie and his co-bloggers initially wrote in 2009. She said it was not a reaction. Her about life in Ann Arbor from a grad student’s blog is a mix of politics and government issues. perspective. Posts had an attitude and humor. Her insightful commentary on local media is Then as he saw local coverage dwindle, he extensive. stepped it up.
She was one of several citizens who participated “My covert goal has always been to get people to in training about citizen journalism that Online pay more attention to the city council,” he says. News Association and Poynter – two journalism education and membership organizations – Damn Arbor is an instigator of monthly city conducted in Ann Arbor when the News closed. council “watch parties.” A handful of residents – but not as in-depth. It no longer has an opinion and civic activist. “This has varied over months, It inspired citizens in a way that Advance had gather at the Workantile, an office space co-op, page. The website – Mlive.com – has more local since the News has had a couple of iterations, hoped it would when it went mostly digital. on Main Street to watch council meetings and and statewide content, and each town has its some with better coverage than others. But since Some citizens tried their hand for a while, but live-tweet them. own section. many people do not follow online local news, the eventually many petered out because of time effect was ‘no newspaper.’” demands and no payoff. Those who are still Ed Vielmetti usually attends the watch parties. The business model applied to the News has He’s a longtime prolific blogger – so much so since been applied to dozens of Advance’s other The Ann Arbor News was the mainstream paper active bloggers and social media users identify increasing civic participation as their primary that AnnArbor.com hired him in 2009 to be newspapers. of record, but it was not the only newspaper part of its community team. Bloggers covered in Washtenaw County. The Michigan Daily is motivation. The uninformed nurse voter is only Advance’s commitment to being community- one of several anecdotes Ann Arbor citizen hyperlocal issues, which Advance promised to the independent student-run newspaper at the do when it closed the News. Vielmetti already oriented was initially visible in 2009. It created University of Michigan. It covers councils and journalists tell. a team to blog about neighborhoods and micro- had experience in working to get public records commissions intermittently, but its transient Morgan, director of The CivCity Initiative, said by using the Freedom of Information Act, so he level community issues. Almost two years in, that student staff makes consistency difficult. The team was eliminated and there has since been one of the nonprofit’s main missions is to inform started a FOIA Friday column. That helped the 40-year-old Ann Arbor Observer covers civic people and “is a direct response to the sparse paper’s owners fulfill the watchdog role – to the ongoing rounds of layoffs and cost reductions as issues, but its publication schedule hampers the news industry in general struggles. amount of civic news in our local media.” extent a few-hundred-word blog could cover. But its immediate relevancy. The Ann Magazine, when Advance eliminated the community team a started in 2010, also is a monthly with a focus on It’s death by a thousand cuts, residents say. The need for increasing civic awareness in a year and a half later, once again the government long-form stories. In late January this year, the college town partly shows that a comment coverage shrank along with the staffing level. In 2013, three years after replacing the News magazine created an email newsletter called the Newhouse made when announcing the News’ with AnnArbor.com, Advance changed the name ANNthology. The newsletter rounds up and links closure isn’t a precise representation of Ann Since leaving the paper, Vielmetti has tried to of the print edition back to the Ann Arbor News to the best and most timely stories from 19 news Arbor residents. Then, Newhouse said: “It’s retain his effort to vet public records. The city and rolled its standalone website into MLive. sources , blogs and calendars and emails it to unusually tech-savvy and a community that’s of Ann Arbor has a public document request com, an all-encompassing Michigan news website subscribers five days a week. passionate about everything that’s going on.” repository. Of the 10 most recent requests with sections for each town it serves. Advance submitted, Vielmetti requested six. Of all “It’s a really cool experiment, and we’re having reiterated its commitment to local journalism, Voter turnout for municipal elections in documents on the portal, he has requested 266. fun trying to find different ways community just delivering it on a different platform. The Washtenaw County is low. In the last decade, Second to that is MLive’s city government beat journalism,” says Kyle Poplin, The Ann Magazine’s move widened the gap between it and the turnout has usually bounced around 11 to reporter, with 44. Vielmetti took his FOIA Friday co-editor of the ANNthology. community. 14 percent. In 2009, it doubled because of a column to the Damn Arbor blog, but in the last controversial school tax proposal. In contrast, From 2008 to 2014, Morgan and her husband, year his self-appointed watchdog role has faded “It has been disorienting and has interfered with voter turnout for presidential elections is higher Dave Askins, ran the online-only Ann Arbor because he focuses more on his personal life. the cohesion that comes from a shared base of than the national average. Other recent studies Chronicle. Morgan said they started the knowledge about daily events,” says Vivienne have shown that when metro papers stop Citizen journalists will never replace trained Chronicle because “there was a whole raft of Armentrout, a former professor who is a blogger covering contentious local issues, voter turnout in journalists who work for a news organization, government entities not being covered.” The Newsroom Partnerships: From Competition 42 Ann Arbor: Citizenship and the Local Newspaper to Cooperation 43
A Conversation with Heather Bryant, John S. Knight Fellow, says Ann Arbor resident and lawyer Andy Stanford University Buchsbaum.
“They aren’t accountable for what they say,” he In an age where newspapers face increasingly they couldn’t do on their own.” says. And when it comes to governments, “the challenging market pressures, dwindling lack of accountability is missing there, too.” newsroom budgets have limited newspapers’ Characteristics of a Successful ability to cover the critical information needs Partnership – and Common Mistakes This troubles blogger Monet Tiedemann. She of communities. To continue providing high- Successful partnerships require a lot of planning live-blogs Ann Arbor Public Schools meetings quality journalism, many newspapers have and coordination. Bryant has identified dozens at AnnArbivore.com as a “civic obligation.” Her had to change their mindset from being purely of partnerships and has found that successful posts are primarily play-by-plays of the meetings competitive with other newspapers to seeking partnerships share some common characteristics: but, like so many of the citizen blogs, lack the opportunities for collaboration. context and nuance that are an essential part of They give everyone an opportunity to have a a newspaper beat reporter’s job. Still, she knows Beyond typical foundational collaborations, such voice at the table. deeper reporting and consistent oversight are as content sharing, many newsrooms have necessary. started to move to what Heather Bryant, a John According to Bryant, it is important that no S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University, calls partner dominates the decision-making. “Sometimes I ask myself, ‘How much farther do I next-level collaborations, which more deeply Successful partnerships correct for power need to go?’” integrate business and newsroom operations. imbalances between bigger and smaller Bryant started her career in journalism in Alaska, newsrooms by involving all members in Regret, But No Solution which she says “is the home of the thousand- identifying goals and processes. Otherwise, the Last year, Morgan illustrated the local media’s mile reporter.” Given how sparsely populated the complete buy-in of both organizations may be subpar government oversight. She discovered state is, and how much distance can separate at risk. This is especially true for partnerships a Washtenaw County commissioner was population centers, it can be especially difficult in which the larger organization, with more using his elected position to secure a hired to afford robust coverage. This spurred Alaskan resources, could control the decision-making position with the county. Commissioners have journalists to begin collaborations ahead of the process. curve. “It’s something they’ve been doing for a authority over the person responsible for hiring They get buy-in from long time,” Bryant says, “Since the early ’90s.” to fulfill the position a commissioner sought. the teams on the ground. She questioned his ethics and the county Some of the more common partnerships, like While commitment from the leadership of government’s willingness to allow it. The Ann source referral and joint reporting, have been partner organizations is important, management Arbor News covered the story only after Morgan practiced for years. However, organizations must also get the buy-in of the entire staff. wrote a letter of complaint, which led to the are increasingly seeking to maximize their “These types of partnerships don’t work well as commissioner’s resignation. thin budgets through more highly integrated top-down projects,” says Bryant. Regular and “If I had not reported on (the commissioner), it collaborations, like shared reporters, back-end consistent communication is required between wouldn’t have been daylighted,” Morgan told the resource consolidation, and domain expertise leadership and staff that clearly identifies how Michigan Daily in a story published in January. training, among others. the partnership will be structured and what both “In terms of things that are happening in our the short- and long-term benefits will be. The These types of collaboration go much further government that aren’t getting covered, that is a creation of governing documents that spell out than simply sharing information – they change good example.” the agreed obligations and expectations of each the economics of the newsroom. The cost-sharing partner can avoid confusion or conflict down the Armentrout’s deep involvement in civics and her and interdependence has allowed newspapers to road. The competitive spirit that has long driven community makes her Local in Ann Arbor blog cover more of the things that matter and to do a newsrooms can be hard to shake. among the best examples of citizen journalism. better job of it. But she knows even her passion is not enough They build trust and develop clear lines of By working together, newsrooms have reduced to fill the gap in watching for government communication. redundancy and conducted larger, more transparency. Beyond getting the initial buy-in from staff significant investigations than they could members, lasting relationships need to be built “Many of us regret this, but even just to publish otherwise. “Knowing that they count on this and trust must be established. To do so, open – aside from paying for reportage – is costly, and type of coverage from each other so they don’t lines of communication need to exist between there doesn't seem to be a successful business have to drop everything and do it themselves the partner staffs, either via in-person meetings plan," she said. has really freed them up to cover the things they or video conferences. It is also important for really need to …, ” Bryant says, “and, on a larger partners to do complementary work and to allow scale, work together to do statewide projects that individuals to take ownership of niches, such as 44 Newsroom Partnerships: Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 45 From Competition to Cooperation
data journalism. This enables organizations to • Dominant partner: One organization cannot especially important so that each partner supports fundraising, engineering services, and benefit from an expanded array of skill sets and have complete control of leadership and effectively contributes to the product. reporting and editorial services. It also offers the to develop deep expertise in particular areas. agenda setting. Goals and processes need to following services to other public broadcasting be developed collaboratively. stations: grant reporting, payroll, budget They are adaptable. • Lack of planning: A number of tasks need to A Model of Success preparations, accounts payable, and membership Regardless of how well-planned the partnership services, among others. be thoughtfully planned out, including how Among the dozens of partnerships that Bryant is, it will likely encounter some difficulties. The organizations will communicate and how the has identified, an early collaboration among best partnerships continue to adapt along the To build a successful partnership, CoastAlaska editorial and publishing processes will be public radio stations in Alaska has stood out as way. To do this well, leadership needs to not focused on setting clearly defined goals and structured. one of the most successful examples. In the only encourage open communication and regular processes as well as strong relationships at Misaligned needs: Some organizations will mid-1990s, as budgets were shrinking, six public feedback, but also be open to changes. • every level of its partner organizations. The need to present reports in different ways, radio stations – KTOO, KCAW, KRBD, KSTK, organizations developed the CoastAlaska Inevitably, new partnerships will go through some depending on how they communicate. Some KFSK, and KHNS – came together to devise a Compact, which clearly outlined the services and growing pains. Bryant has also identified some of will need to create website graphics, while plan to fend off the threat of closure. By 1998, responsibilities of CoastAlaska and individual the pain points that can hinder collaboration: others will need to develop content for radio according to Bryant, five of those stations, member stations. or television. This makes early planning all except for KHNS, had “consolidated back- office support services while each retained full While the organizations have developed strong control over editorial operations, schedules and relationships based on trust, there was some TYPES OF NEWSROOM PARTNERSHIPS facilities.” Though it did not officially join the early skepticism from members. Ed Schoenfeld, group, KHNS has remained an informal partner. the regional news director for CoastAlaska, told Type of Category What it Means Bryant that early on, not everyone had “full Collaboration The group, now approaching 19 years old, trust with other people in the operations so they adopted the name CoastAlaska and based Shared Reporter sort of called me to complain.” In response, he location. its headquarters in Juneau. The organization “encouraged them to get to know each other, Newsroom Putting a reporter into a partner newsroom either to learn or for better provides all the necessary financial systems and get to trust each other a little more. And that’s Embeds access to a story. cleared itself up.” Back End Optimizing resources in the back end in order to more fully support or COAST ALASKA Resource In the end, many of the partners feel that fund the news operation. Consolidation NEWSROOM PARTNERSHIP the relationships that have been developed e t evel Joint Event MEMBER PARTNER have been beneficial beyond cost savings. The Multiple newsrooms planning and managing a news event. ollaborations Hosting reporters, mostly coming from relatively small Serving as a safety or backup to newsrooms/reporters in areas/ newsrooms, now have a bigger network of CE Distribution situations where they cannot publish or cannot publish safely. colleagues to call on and feel better connected KHNS to the region. The audience has appreciated the Coordinated Newsrooms supporting each other/freelancers in information requests. Haines, AK FO A/ awsuits expanded regional scope of coverage as well. Domain Another collaboration that Bryant has identified Expertise Sharing expertise of a newsroom via training opportunities with others. as especially successful is the statewide Alaska Training KTOO Public Radio Network. The network produces a Juneau, AK Content Sharing Sharing photos, audio, video or some other piece of content. daily program, “Alaska News Nightly,” that ties together coverage from stations across the state. Content Presenting content from a partner to your audience and vice versa. The network also pools resources to support Distribution a reporter in Juneau, the state capital, and Coordinated Strategically covering a large story so that resources are well deployed. Washington, D.C. Coverage KCAW oundational Contribution to a Contributing individual reporting to a larger project not possible Sitka, AK KFSK Additionally, three Alaska news organizations, ollaborations arger Product independently. Petersburg, AK KTOO, Alaska Public Media, and KUCB, were Getting feedback and review on complicated reporting such as complex KSTK awarded funding from the Corporation for Peer Review data sets. Wrangell, AK Public Broadcasting to create Alaska’s Energy Parallel Desk in 2016. With the pooled resources, the Each partner contributing to a story uniquely. Reporting collaborative can report in greater depth on
Joint Reporting product. KRBD Ketchikan, AK Source Referral Referring partners to people with expertise needed for a story.
SOURCE: The many shapes of collaboration, Heather Bryant. Read more at http://bit.ly/2l3fNwC Newsroom Partnerships: Spotlight on Research 46 From Competition to Cooperation 47
energy and environmental issues. Though the partnership is relatively new and still finding its footing, the group has developed a memorandum The Center for Innovation and Sustainability he posits that community-based public service of understanding and it has produced more than in Local Media launched the weekly Spotlight journalism should be considered not just a public 100 stories and 18 videos. on Research series in November of 2016 to good, but also a “merit good” subsidized or Further examples of partnerships include the highlight important work in the academy and provided free by government since it benefits our following: the profession on the emerging threat of news entire society. deserts and changes in media ownership. The series has featured a number of academics and Ali received his Ph.D. from the Annenberg EXAMPLES OF NEWSROOM PARTNERSHIPS practitioners who have studied issues related to School for Communication at the University of Type of digital media economics, media governance, rural Pennsylvania and has worked for the Federal Example Collaboration newspapers, and investigative journalism, among Communications Commission, consulted with the South Korean Committee on the Impact of Media Domain Expertise other topics. The following excerpts provide ProPublica’s Summer Data Institute Training information about the research that has been Concentration, and was part of a consortium of researchers, activists, and practitioners KTOO Public Media/360North has a photographer in the Alaska state capitol building during featured. The full text, including four questions the legislative session. The organizations share those photos with a creative commons asked of each featured author, can be found at intervening at the Canadian Radio-television Content Sharing license so that public media newsrooms across the state have access to photos of their local http://www.cislm.org. and Telecommunications Commission regarding representatives and the legislative session at large to use for their own stories. community and local media. He is currently a Northwest News Network is a collaborative hub for regional coverage across the Pacific CHRISTOPHER ALI fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism Content Northwest. The network reduces duplicate efforts and helps newsrooms share and collaborate at Columbia University co-authoring a report Distribution effectively. What exactly is local news on the state of small-market newspapers in the and, more broadly, local Panama Papers was a coordinated effort across more than 370 newsrooms to adequately and United States, “Local News in a Digital World: media? How should we Coordinated locally cover a story with global implications. On a smaller scale, the SF Homeless Project Small Market Newspapers in an Era of Digital Coverage saw more than 70 groups cover the topic of homelessness in the Bay Area in a coordinated regulate it, and how much do Disruption.” He is also a fellow at the Center for manner. we value it? Is it important Advanced Research in Global Communication NPR makes use of many individual stories from local member stations and packages them enough, for instance, for us at the University of Pennsylvania, where he Contribution to a into full programs which stations then run on their own airwaves. This also happens apart as taxpayers to subsidize will begin research on a new book, Farm Fresh Larger Product from NPR on a more local level in some states where local newsrooms contribute to a local news-gathering Spectrum: Rural Interventions in Communication statewide report. organizations — or even Policy, which examines the role that farming Traditional fact checking is hard to apply to data-driven stories. As is commonly the case, more radically, should our communities play in shaping communication small newsrooms with maybe one reporter who can do the story in the first place, don’t have Peer Review governments provide local policy. people with the skills to vet the methodologies and data. The requires reaching outside the news free of charge, just as newsroom to get the necessary second pair of eyes needed for these kinds of stories. public education is offered free to all citizens? The full text can be found at: SOURCE: The many shapes of collaboration, Heather Bryant. http://cislm.org/four-questions-christopher-ali/ Read more at http://bit.ly/2l3fNwC Christopher Ali, an assistant professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, tackles these SARAH CAVANAH questions in his new book, Media Localism: The Policies of Place (University of Illinois Press, Newspapers have historically To stay up-to-date with Heather Bryant’s 2017), which addresses the difficulties of defining served a critical role in work and to read more about the partnerships and regulating local media in the 21st century in our democracy, identifying mentioned in this article, visit her webpage at the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. the hot-button issues that https://medium.com/facet. are debated and voted on Ali has focused much of his research on the in communities large and issues confronting local news organizations and small. Dr. Sarah Cavanah, the implications these difficulties have for the an assistant professor in the long-term viability of local news. Economists communication program at the have long defined public service journalism as University of North Dakota, a “public good” since everyone in a community is focused on researching the and a democracy benefits when citizens are role of public affairs journalism well-informed about the issues and choices in supporting healthy communities. A former confronting them. In his article, Ali argues newspaper and magazine journalist and public that our democracy depends on free flow of relations professional, she is the author of information at the grassroots level. With local several educational books and workbooks aimed newspapers reeling from economic disruption, at elementary and middle-school students and 48 Spotlight on Research Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts 49
has served three organizations committed to books on media economics include All the News PHILIP NAPOLI MATTHEW POWERS supporting student media. She is originally from That’s Fit to Sell: How the Market Transforms Marceline, Missouri. Information into News (Princeton, 2004) and Are local news organizations Who fills the void when Channeling Violence: The Economic Market providing citizens in their economic pressures hit local Her dissertation examined how coverage of for Violent Television Programming (Princeton, communities with the critical newspapers? Why are online local issues in small surrounding communities 1998). information they need to startups in some communities by area metropolitan papers affected political make wise decisions on more numerous and successful participation on local elections. She examined The full text can be found at: policy matters that affect than those in other areas? coverage of events and issues in the area by http://cislm.org/four-questions-james-t- their quality of life? How are Matthew Powers, a professor the Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Denver Post hamilton/ residents actually getting of communication at the and the Oregonian of Portland over more than the local news they want University of Washington, has two decades, beginning in 1992. She found that MERJA MYLLYLAHTI and need – from neighbors, been studying the formation from newspapers or from of startups in Seattle and when the three metro papers covered hot-button Since 2011, Merja social media? In a digital age, Toulouse, France, with his issues in outlying communities, more voters in Myllylahti, a former how can news organizations colleague, Sandra Vera Zambrano of Universidad that community turned out at the polls, even in financial journalist, has better engage and connect with residents Iberoamericana in Mexico City. These two off-year elections. been tracking media in their communities? Philip M. Napoli, the cities share a number of similarities: They are ownership patterns in New The full text can be found at: James R. Shepley Professor of Public Policy at comparable in size, levels of education, and use Zealand. During that time, http://cislm.org/four-questions-sarah-cavanah/ Duke University, has focused his research on of technology. ownership has become understanding local media institutions and their increasingly concentrated in JAMES T. HAMILTON importance to the communities where they are The news outlets in both cities are facing the hands of a few barons. economic pressures and need to develop new, What is the value to society located, and to assessing the effects of media What are the implications sustainable business models. However, French of investigative journalism? regulation and policy on the evolving news of this for her country? Are media subsidies buffer advertising downturns, In his new book, Democracy’s ecosystem. there cautionary lessons and labor laws make it difficult to fire journalists, Detectives: The Economics for U.S. media companies, Currently, he is overseeing the News Measures while American outlets are more exposed of Investigative Journalism which are going through a period of contraction Research Project, which seeks to develop new to commercial downturns. Ultimately, these (Harvard, 2016), author and consolidation? What does consolidation mean approaches to assessing the health of local differences led to a proliferation of startups in James T. “Jay” Hamilton for the future of news organizations around the journalism ecosystems, as well as identifying Seattle and relatively few in Toulouse. Many of calculates the long-term globe struggling to develop new and sustainable community characteristics that impact the the laid-off reporters in Seattle have sought to economic consequence to digital business models? robustness of such news ecosystems. Most use their experience and social networks to form society when lives are saved recently he mapped the ecosystems of three online news startups, some of which provide the and disasters are averted Myllylahti, who worked for newspapers and New Jersey communities – New Brunswick, public affairs journalism that is often missed by by such reporting. He argues that citizens who digital and television news organizations in Newark, and Morristown – and is in the process traditional news sources. live in a community are the real beneficiaries of London for 15 years before moving to New of gathering data on 100 randomly selected investigative journalism, regardless of whether Zealand in 2009, is currently a researcher and communities in the U.S., with the aim of Powers, who received his Ph.D. from New York they are subscribers to or viewers of the media project manager at the Journalism, Media and determining which are most at risk of becoming University, focuses his research on journalism outlets that invest significant time and money in Democracy Research Centre, based at Auckland news deserts. studies, political communication, and comparative a reporting effort that surfaces a societal problem University of Technology. She is the author of an media, and his writing has been published in and analyzes the causes. In contrast, most news annual New Zealand media ownership report and Napoli is the author of three books, including Journal of Communication, Media, Culture & organizations gain very little direct economic lectures in media communications and journalism Audience Evolution: New Technologies and Society, and the International Journal of Press/ benefit. With revenues and profit under pressure studies at Auckland University of Technology the Transformation of Media Audiences, and Politics, among others. in many legacy news organizations, fewer such and Massey University. Her research interests has published more than 80 journal articles reports are being produced. This “market failure” also include media transformation and digital or book chapters. He has engaged in research The full text can be found at: has long-term implications for society, argues media economics, news business models and consultations and collaborations with a wide http://cislm.org/four-questions-matthew-powers/ Hamilton, which is why he hopes both journalists paywalls. Her most-recent publications include a range of organizations, including the Federal and non-journalists will read the book. book chapter “Newspaper paywalls and corporate Communications Commission, the New revenues: A comparative study” published in America, Free Press, the Minority Media and Hamilton, the Hearst Professor of Communication Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Telecommunications Council, the National and director of the journalism program at Studies (2017); and an academic article “What Association of Broadcasters, and the National Stanford University, has a Ph.D. in economics content is worth locking behind a paywall?” Cable & Telecommunications Association. He from Harvard University. His research on published in Digital Journalism (2016). received his Ph.D. in communication from computational journalism focuses on how the Northwestern University. costs of story discovery can be lowered through The full text can be found at: better use of data and algorithms. His previous http://cislm.org/four-questions-merja-myllylahti/ The full text can be found at: http://cislm.org/four-questions-philip-napoli/ 50 Spotlight on Research
JOANN SCIARRINO NIKKI USHER Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts is produced by the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media in the School of Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. What is the future of The buildings where newspaper advertising newspapers were departments in published in the 20th small, low-growth century were often iconic UNC Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media communities? Can the structures. They stood print sales reps at these out on the skylines of The Center supports existing and start-up news organizations through its dissemination of applied research newspapers become large cities or became and the development of digital tools and solutions. Specifically, it supports the economic and business re- digital advertising gathering places for search of UNC’s Knight Chairs, and the professors and students associated with the Reese News Lab, which experts? JoAnn local residents in small designs, tests and adapts digital tools for use in small and mid-sized newsrooms. The Center is funded by Sciarrino, Knight Chair communities. Perhaps grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and UNC's Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor & in Digital Advertising none was more symbolic Provost. and Marketing at the of the community it called University of North home than Florida’s www.cislm.org; www.reesenewlab.org Carolina at Chapel Hill, explores these questions flagship Miami Herald Professors: in a case study on The Whiteville News Reporter, building, which looked out on Biscayne Bay. Built a Pulitzer Prize-winning, twice-weekly paper with in 1963, it also served as headquarters for the Penelope Muse Abernathy, Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics a print circulation of 10,000. The paper, which Knight Ridder chain until the late 1990s. Like serves one of the poorest counties in North many other newspaper owners in recent years, JoAnn Sciarrino, Knight Chair in Digital Advertising and Marketing Carolina, was an early pioneer in the digital its current publisher, McClatchy, decided in 2013 space, establishing a robust website and social to move from downtown and seek smaller and Ryan Thornburg, Director of Reese News Lab and the Reese Felts Distinguished Professor media presence that connect with thousands of less-expensive quarters in the suburbs. In this Steven King, Chief Innovation Officer, Reese News Lab, and Assistant Professor of Multimedia users daily. But, like most other papers, it has article, professor Nikki Usher chronicles the effect struggled to increase digital advertising revenue that the move had on both the Herald journalists to compensate for the loss of print advertising and on the Miami community. “Where news is revenue. made matters,” she concludes. As a postscript, Contributors to Thwarting the Emergence of News Deserts: the old Herald building was purchased by a Sciarrino noted that many large regional metro Malaysian company and demolished in 2015. Penelope Muse Abernathy, Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics papers were establishing in-house digital advertising agencies that provided a range of Nikki Usher. is an assistant professor in George Cody Allen, Research Specialist, UNC School of Media and Journalism services – such as website design and search Washington University’s School of Media and Craig Anderson, Project Director, Center for Innovation and Stainability in Local Media engine optimization – to their local advertisers. Public Affairs. She is the author of Making News Could such a setup boost digital advertising at The New York Times (University of Michigan Justin Blankenship, Assistant Professor of Journalism, Auburn University revenue for smaller papers? For more than a year Press, 2014) and Interactive Journalism: and a half, Sciarrino worked with the leadership Hackers, Data, and News (University of Illinois Heather Bryant, John S. Knight Fellow, Stanford University team at The News Reporter, training its four- Press, November 2016), which looks at the rise person sales staff. The lessons learned by the of programming, data, and hacking in journalism Amy Maestas, Knight-Wallace Fellow, University of Michigan Whiteville team are instructive for other small- and the ensuing changes to the profession. She John Nagy, Editor of The Pilot, Southern Pines, North Carolina market news organizations. received her Ph.D. and Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Patrick Sims, Research Associate, UNC School of Media and Journalism A former executive with BBDO North America, School of Communication and her A.B. from Sciarrino has spent more than three decades Harvard University. Carol Wolf, Walter E. Hussman Visiting Lecturer, UNC School of Media and Journalism helping such brands as AT&T, Starbucks, Hyatt, and Procter and Gamble test and refine The full text can be found at: their digital advertising business models and http://cislm.org/four-questions-nikki-usher/ strategies. She received her MBA in decision UNC School of Media and Journalism science from Emory University and pursues Susan R. King, Dean a broad research agenda that appears in the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice and Journal of Digital and Social Media, among others. She is also currently co-authoring a book on digital media entrepreneurship.
The full text can be found at: http://cislm.org/four-questions-joann-sciarrino/