According to Pew Research Center the newspaper business has to do more than cut costs and find a reliable way to make money from their digital offerings. Sadly, in many cases local papers are not highly valued by members of the community.
When it comes to local news, more people say they get that news from local television stations than any other source. About two-thirds say they regularly get local news from television reports or television station websites. Half say they regularly get news from local newspapers in print or online. On third get local news from radio and 31% say they get their local news from the internet.
Many of those who say the closing of the local paper wouldn’t make much, if any, difference in their communities note that there are other news sources available or criticize the newspaper’s quality. About three-in-ten say there are other ways to get news, including television, radio news and the internet. One-in-five say the quality of the newspaper is poor, while 5% say it is biased. One-in-ten say they don’t read the paper and almost as many (9%) say they don’t think other people read it either.
“There are other forms of communication that are more important and easier to follow. I either go to television or turn on the radio in my car,” said one person who believes the closure of the local paper would make no difference to civic life.
