I have a theory that if newspapers had come on the scene after the internet and social media, everyone would prefer newspapers. People would say, “Instead of being bombarded by ads, misinformation, memes and videos all day, I can just sit in my favorite chair and leisurely read and turn these thin pieces of paper called pages. This newspaper thing is great and will be the death of the worldwide web!”
The importance of local news, especially in the coverage of education, came to mind last month when I and several KASB colleagues were on the road in western Kansas with Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson on his tour of the state to talk about public schools.
There is nothing like solid local news coverage. And it doesn’t matter if it’s online or in paper form. Having something that provides information written by trained journalists on what is going on at city hall, the courthouse, schools, crime or anything else of interest is essential for us and our communities.
And newspapers have taken a beating the past few decades. Many have gone out of business and many of the ones that remain have been hollowed out for investor profit. This descent has produced some interesting results. The national newspapers, such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, are flying high, while small- and medium-size papers, crater.
The result is there are probably hundreds of reporters in Washington, D.C. covering every twist and turn in the White House but no one is covering your local Planning Commission meeting. There may be a dozen “think pieces” buzzing in your phone every morning about the latest fight in Congress, but you won’t have a clue as to why there is a bar going up next door to your house. This is a problem because local government and business have a greater impact on our lives than what is happening in Washington D.C. Also, is it causation or correlation that crazy, wildfire-spreading conspiracies have become prevalent in our daily lives at the same time that newspaper subscriptions have nose-dived?
Yet, as KASB has traveled around the state, I have seen great coverage of Watson’s Kansans Can Success Tour meetings by reporters from local daily and weekly newspapers. One that comes to mind was when we were in Syracuse and a woman with a reporter’s pad and camera, wearing a T-shirt that said “Syracuse Journal” was at the meeting. Using my keen observational skills developed from 30-plus years in journalism, I concluded she was a reporter for the local paper and went up to her to introduce myself. “So, you’re from the Syracuse Journal.” Owner/editor Michele Boy replied, “I am the Syracuse Journal.” She said it proudly and then told me all the things she was covering that day, in addition to the meeting, before getting the edition to the printer and then bringing all the papers back and distributing them. What dedication, I thought. I went to the paper’s website and saw so many local stories, I concluded people in Syracuse spend their days thinking of ways to commit news.
Then in Scott City, I met Rod Haxton, owner and publisher of the Scott County Record, who was kind enough later to send me a couple of copies of his weekly edition that included his story of the Kansans Can meeting he covered. As we used to say in the biz, “He wrote the heck out of it,” plus he wrote a sidebar on the local district’s approach to school redesign. The paper had four sections, 32 pages that were filled with local stories about business, health, agriculture, sports, opinions, obits. Just plain old, well-written, well-presented news for $1; less than a candy bar! It was a pleasure to read it.
And by the way, education leaders — if you are not on a first-name basis with the reporters in your community, you should be. Reporters have a tough and often thankless job, and they aren’t in it for the money. Any assistance you can give a reporter in the way of story ideas, or in helping them flesh out stories, would be greatly appreciated by them and will help schools in the long run by ensuring coverage is fair. Criticism of public schools thrives when all the facts are not presented, and you can work with media to make sure the full picture is presented. A good start would be to call you local media and invite them to the Kansans Can Success Tour, which continues this week.
Anyway, all this is to say, educators, please subscribe to your local journalism. It needs your support and you need it. What’s more important: Watching a cute cat video or learning about how the state has limited remote learning in your district and how your school will address that? Good local coverage is as important to communities as clean water, thriving schools and smooth roads. In fact, you can read all about it in your local paper. Subscribe before it’s too late.
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