Community news keeps newspapers as relevant as ever

Among the many fake news headlines making the rounds on the internet, one of the most popular is “Newspapers are dead.”

Let’s put that to bed right away. According to the Editor & Publisher Newspaper DataBook’s study “State of the News Media 2016,” there were 1,331 daily newspapers operating in 2014 compared to 1,457 that were published in 2004.

Yes, that’s a decline, but consider how many changes have occurred in our society since 2004, especially the invention of the smartphone and the rapid increase of information technologies of all kinds, and you have to be impressed that newspapers have a staying power not seen in many other industries.

And of the many people who read newspapers, it should be stressed that most of them read their newspaper in a print edition. Just like newspapers are not dead, neither is print. In fact, a recent Nielsen Scarborough study showed that most newspaper readers rely on the print edition. About 51 percent use the print edition exclusively, but another 30 percent use the print edition in conjunction with web and mobile versions. A much smaller group, about 19 percent, access newspapers exclusively in a digital form.

Of course, older readers tend to rely on print versions more than digital, and younger readers digest their newspaper content online more commonly than in print. That’s just natural, but ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether newspapers are ported entirely to a digital platform or not, so long as readers and advertisers continue to recognize the value they are getting and are willing to pay for it.

This is where I come in, along with the team of reporters and editors who work with me every day to provide “a good read” for you the consumer. There’s no easy description for what “a good read is,” but you the reader know it when you see it, and your feedback helps us to better understand what kind of news you want to read.

Interestingly, the internet has served a very valuable purpose for newspapers in that it helps us to get immediate feedback from readers so we can constantly be learning how to produce a better newspaper. Our regional editor, Matt Baldwin, has been compiling statistics on the weekly Top 10 social media posts on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, and has come up with some interesting insights.

Besides the obvious appetite for news about weather, crime and bears (preferably grizzly), our readers also crave news about their neighbors. Matt notes that our “Monday profiles are regular top performers, especially with shares. Local faces are important.” Likewise, “school news matters to our readers (features on classroom chairs and science fairs)” but not necessarily board meetings. And also, “our readers crave business news — new businesses, moving businesses, business leaders.” Sports stories about our local high schools also ring up big numbers, especially when reporter Joe Terry is live-tweeting from a tournament in Great Falls as he did when the Glacier Wolfpack nailed down the state title in boys basketball.

It all adds up to what we call in the business “hyperlocal news.” Those kinds of stories about our sprawling and diverse community are what we specialize in, and which you can’t find on cable news or national websites. You need a community newspaper to make those stories come alive, and that’s what gives small papers a special advantage compared to our big-city cousins. Yes, you may read about some of the same hyperlocal stories on a TV or radio website, but those outlets typically have a staff of one or two local reporters (if any) whereas we have a newsroom of 16 people. Chances are, if it is news that matters to you and your family, then you are going to read it in the Inter Lake first.

That’s why we are confident going forward that the newspaper — this newspaper — is going to be part of your life for a long time to come. We’ve been around since 1889, and we expect to be here in 2089, telling your stories, taking your pictures, caring about your concerns, and continuing to be the first rough draft of the history of the Flathead Valley.

Frank Miele is the managing editor of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Montana.