When a town loses a newspaper

by: Jason Springer

Tue Mar 24, 2009 at 10:45:00 AM EDT

We've written alot about the struggles of the print media and what the wider implications are from those difficulties. Now Princeton University releases a study focusing on an actual case situation:

A glimpse into what might happen has been offered up by a new study out of Princeton University. Assistant Professor of economics and public affairs Sam Schulhofer-Wohl and Miguel Garrido looked at communities affected by the closing of the Cincinnati Post at the end of 2007, and it's not an attractive view.
The study is very small in scope, since the Post had a total of only 27,000 subscribers in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky. And it measures only the outcomes in northern Kentucky, since Ohio has not had municipal elections since the Post's closure. But even with those limitations, a few trends seemed to emerge: in towns the Post regularly covered, voter turnout dropped, fewer people ran for office and more incumbents were reelected. That is, when there were fewer stories about a given town, its inhabitants seemed to care less about how they're being governed.
In the only possible hint of a bright spot, it seemed that smaller towns were much less affected by newspaper closures than larger ones. Voter turnout in the smaller communities did not change.

You can view a pdf of the full study. While it was only a limited look, the results may indicate what we could see happen on a larger scale when papers close:

While the study only looked at one newspaper, if the larger findings hold true, it?s not just areas in which a newspaper folds that will be affected. Municipalities covered by newspapers that have sharply scaled-back newsrooms, such as the Newark Star-Ledger, may also see similar trends emerging, because the papers simply cannot cover as much local news as they had previously.

Just yesterday, the Star Ledger announced furloughs and pension changes to try and deal with the economic struggles. Here's what Editor and Publisher had to say about the move, when draft emails surfaced last week:

the latest setback for the Star-Ledger newsroom, which has already seen the cutback of 131 staffers through buyouts last fall; threats of closure; and the merging of its statehouse bureau with longtime rival The Record of Hackensack.

The Times of Trenton announced a similar move yesterday with pension changes and furloughs. Gannett also said they will have another round of furloughs to help deal with the economic difficulties.

In the Princeton study, they started with the quote, "Give light and the people will find their own way." That light certainly isn't as bright anymore making it much harder for people to see.

Jason Springer :: When a town loses a newspaper