COVID-19 and the “Golden Era”: Turning the page on rural, weekly newspaper production

Author:

Smith Christina C.1,Miller Kyle J.1

Affiliation:

1. Smith is an associate professor of communication at Georgia College & State University. Miller is an assistant professor in the School of Communication and Mass Media at Northwest Missouri State University

Abstract

The rural weekly newspaper industry rooted in traditional geographically bounded U.S. communities was long thought to have been shielded from industry dilemmas—revenue and circulation—at larger mainstream daily newspapers. However, recent data show a shift in these rural community journalism trends, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Using normative theory and diffusion of innovations, this study examines how rural weekly newspaper publishers perceived, nearly 18 months after the onset of the pandemic, how COVID-19 impacted their newspapers’ advertising, news, technology, and community involvement. Survey results reveal short-term and long-term content and financial challenges plague U.S. rural grassroots information sources with circulation less than 3,000—indicating the end of the “golden era” of weekly newspapers. Despite the constraints, publishers remain optimistic and dedicated to their audiences, albeit reluctant to swift change, as they perceive themselves as the only reliable information source for their rural communities.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Subject

Communication

Reference75 articles.

1. Abernathy P. M. (2021). The expanding news desert—The loss of local news: What it means for communities. University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media. https://www.usnewsdeserts.com/reports/expanding-news-desert/loss-of-local-news/

2. Abernathy P. M. (2022, June 29). The state of local news: The 2022 report. Northwestern Medill Local News Initiative. https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/research/state-of-local-news/report/

3. Journalism as Usual? Managing Disruption in Virtual Newsrooms during the COVID-19 Crisis

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