*EDITOR’S NOTE: Last week I shared some rather startling statistics about the state of the newspaper industry in our nation. This week we will explore the cause of the decline, and what we can do to prevent our area from joining America’s ever-growing “news desserts”.

It’s just human nature to begin to take for granted those things which are always there and available to us. I take for granted that when I walk into my office in the morning and flip the switch my lights will come on. You may take for granted that you will receive your local newspaper in your mailbox or online this week and that it will contain information and pictures about your community and the people in it.

In the December edition of Publisher’s Auxiliary, a newspaper published by the National Newspaper Association for reporters, editors and publishers, an article appeared that I would like to share excerpts of with you. It was written by Al Cross, director emeritus of the University of Kentucky’s Institute for Rural Journalism.

“On Sept. 5, the Hutchinson News in central Kansas greeted readers with a front-page feature about the Hutchinson Senior Center, with a photo of seniors kayaking on a lake with a thickly forested shore. But that’s not the landscape in Hutchinson, pop. 40,000, or the name of its senior center.

The story was about the center in Hutchinson, Minnesota, and was written by a confused freelancer who got the assignment from a Gannett Co. editor 140 miles away, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, because the News had no news reporters on its staff.

What Gannett’s public-relations office called an “oversight,” in declining an interview about the flub, reflected the shrinkage of American newspapers, which finally hit non-metropolitan America just before the pandemic. The one-two punch led to many closures, mergers, and to continued decline in the quantity and quality of smalltown papers.

About two-thirds of weeklies are owned by chains, and the decline of most weeklies is visible in fewer pages, less news coverage and limited or non-existent office hours.”

Dozens of newspapers across the country don’t have a single full-time reporter dedicated to that publication, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis and industry observers. The Wall Street Journal report states that “The lack of local-news coverage could make it more difficult to detect corruption, journalists and industry observers say. They cite the importance of covering hotbutton topics, especially as localities confront a number of societal issues, including school curricula and policing.”

The good news is that in some places, like here, print and online start-ups are succeeding, showing that local residents still want local news and are willing to pay for a good product.

The bottom line is that even though community newspapers offer a very important public service, we are still a business. Printing costs have risen significantly since Syndicate Publishing began operation in 2019, and as such several newspapers have quit printing papers like ours including North Platte and Kearney.

All four Syndicate papers - the flagship Gothenburg Leader, Cozad LOCAL, Callaway Courier, and Minden Courier - are now printed by White Wolf Web located in Sheldon, Iowa. Each Wednesday morning we drive to Milford to pick up our papers and get them back here in time to drop at the post offices and arrive in your mailboxes on Thursdays.

Newspapers have also faced massive postage increases of about 40% since 2021. This year we were forced to increase our subscription and single copy rates to try to make up some of our increase in expenses. The company has also had to do the one thing no business ever wants to do…trim staff.

The driving force behind what we do at Syndicate Publishing is, always has been, and always will be to share the stories that make our communities special while also holding the governing bodies of our communities accountable. But the hard truth is, that we need the support of our communities to continue to do that into the future; advertisers and subscribers keep us in business.

We love what we do, and welcome our readers to share your ideas and thoughts with us about what we can do to improve our papers heading into 2024. Thank you for trusting us with your stories.