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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2020)
4A | SATURDAY EDITION | JANUARY 25, 2020 Siuslaw News P.O. Box 10 Florence, OR 97439 NED HICKSON , EDITOR | 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM Opinion The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respect- ing an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Govern- ment for a redress of grievances. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) USPS# 497-660 Meeting the challenges faced by community papers If you look in the top left corner of the front page of this newspaper, you’ll see a special logo celebrating the 130th an- niversary of the Siuslaw News. Recently, I had the op- portunity to speak on this subject, and the partic- ular challenges faced by community newspapers like the Siuslaw News and the Cottage Grove Senti- nel, where I am also the managing editor. Truth be told, com- munity newspapers have been hit particularly hard by the economic chal- lenges confronting local journalism, which raises questions about whether these papers still serve as the lynchpins of local re- porting in their commu- nities into the future — or whether other types of outlets will step up to take their place. Harvard University’s Neiman Journalism Lab recently conducted a study that explored which types of news outlets are the most significant pro- ducers of journalism in 100 randomly sampled communities across the U.S. The study produced an inventory of all me- dia outlets located within these 100 communities, and gathered a week’s worth of news stories found on these outlets’ home pages (which was more than 16,000 stories in all). Each story was an- alyzed to determine whether they met each of the following three crite- ria: 1) Was the story origi- nal? 2) Was the story local? 3) Did the story ad- dress a critical informa- tion need? The results showed that, despite the econom- ic hardships that local newspapers have en- dured, they remain — by far — the most significant providers of journalism in their communities. And while there had been predictions that online-only journalism would compensate for the cutbacks and closures af- fecting local print news- papers, the study showed that those expectations have fallen well short of predictions. The study found, for instance, that while local newspapers accounted for roughly 25 percent of the local media outlets in the sample, they account- ed for nearly 60 percent of the original news sto- ries collected in the 100- city sample. In fact, local newspapers produced more of the reporting in their communities than television, radio and on- line-only outlets com- bined. When the results were compared, online-only news sources accounted for just 10 percent of orig- of journalists working for them has been cut in half, according to research by the University of North Carolina’s School of Me- dia and Journalism. This has led to the rise of “ghost papers,” which are papers produced out- side of their communi- ties and patched togeth- er with canned news. In many cases, communities across the country have been left without any lo- cal paper at all. Number 2 in this un- fortunate trifecta: 2) The two-edged sword of social media. On the plus side, social media has allowed small- er newspapers like this From the Editor's Desk Ned Hickson inal news content within their communities. Guess where 60 percent of the remaining content came from? That’s right: Communi- ty newspaper sources. Over the course of the last 10 years, the newspa- per industry was hit by a trifecta of challenges. 1) Rising cost of newsprint. A months-long spike in the price of paper, driven by federal tariffs on Cana- dian suppliers, slammed newspapers and drove the costs of news print into double-digit increas- es beginning in 2017 and lasting through late 2018. Newsprint is typically a publication’s second-big- gest operating expense after labor. The result was a wholesale cutting of journalists at newspapers across the country. According to News Media Alliance, nearly half of the 272 newspaper publishers surveyed said they had laid off news staff as a direct result of newsprint price increas- es. In addition, some 71 percent said they had also cut back the number of pages they published each day. Publishers reported an average annual newsprint cost increase of $176,818 Over the past 15 years, more than one-in-five newspapers in the U.S. has closed, with half of those closures occurring in the last four years. And for the papers that re- mained open, the number one to be more relevant and timely by providing us a way to share import- ant information and news stories on a daily basis by posting them online and sharing them to our so- cial media sites. The downside is that social media has ushered in an age of unverified in- formation or opinion pre- sented as fact. The result has been a general mis- trust of media as a whole when it doesn’t conform to a specific narrative. I can tell you that near- ly a quarter of our time is spent investigating or dis- pelling rumors that begin on social media. While social media has provided small newspa- pers with an impactful way of getting informa- tion out to the communi- ties they serve, it has also made our job as journal- ists harder by introducing another layer of infor- mation that needs to be clarified and — more of- ten than not — dispelled through additional re- sources and investigation. The third challenge journalists face: 3) The politicalization of news and blurring of opinion with fact. This actually began more than a decade ago with the advent of cable news and the 24-hour news cycle, which has eagerly been filled with news “analysis” and opin- ion programming. The result has been the tribalization of infor- mation as people active- ly seek — or are tagged with — the news that best supports a specific narra- tive or political leaning. Coupled with social me- dia, the distrust of jour- nalism at the national level has trickled down to even small community newspapers as political divisiveness on both sides attempt to pressure local news to reflect a specific narrative. So, how has the Siuslaw News and other com- munity newspapers sur- vived? And what does the future hold for communi- ty journalism? Since becoming editor a little over three years ago, my goal has been — and continues to be — a simple one: To provide the commu- nity with the sound of its own voice. Arthur Miller once wrote that “A good News- paper is a nation talking to itself.” I feel the same applies to a good commu- nity newspaper. It should be made up of reporting that reflects facts and per- spectives from all sides of the conversation, along with the opportunity for individuals to express their viewpoints in letters and editorials through the Opinion page. We need to celebrate our achievements as a community as well as rec- ognize our failures by be- ing both chroniclers and watchdogs. The fact that I receive complaints from both re- publicans and democrats, liberals and conservatives for leaning “too far left” or “too far right” (some- times on the same day) tells me we are some- where in the middle — which is where we should be to remain objective. I think that is a big part of why we have survived and, over the last few years, thrived and grown despite the challenges. As for the future, though the number of legacy newspapers like the Siuslaw News and Cottage Grove Sentinel — which celebrated its 130th anniversary last year — have declined, those that remain have done so be- cause they have yet to be displaced as a vital source of local journalism. And if the Harvard University study I men- tioned earlier is any in- dication, the emergence of online-only and “ghost newspapers” as compara- ble sources of local jour- nalism still appears to be a very long way off. LETTERS Help for a longtime Mapletron resident We recently got some sad news about a friend who has lived in the Mapleton area his whole life, Tony Erickson. He is going to go through a lot to get to what we hope and pray is a cure. Tony and his wife, Karen, need all of us at a time like this to be there for them. We decided that they could probably use a little monetary help, too. So, we have started a fund at Oregon Pacific Bank. Anyone wishing to donate can make checks out to the Tony Er- ickson Donation Fund. OPB has been very helpful to us and we really want to thank them. We also will be hosting a spa- ghetti feed at the Mapleton Grange on Sunday, Feb. 9, from 4 to 6 p.m. During the fundraiser dinner, we will celebrate Tony’s birthday, which is the next day. Community members and neighbrs are invited to join to- gether for a good time and rem- iniscing, with all proceeds going to Tony and Karen. We also want to thank the Ma- pleton Grange for allowing us to use its facility. Please keep praying for Tony. —Linda Jensen Mapleton Copyright 2020 © Siuslaw News Siuslaw News Published every Wednesday and Saturday at 148 Maple St. in Florence, Lane County, Oregon. A member of the National Newspaper Association and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. Periodicals postage paid at Florence, Ore. Postmaster, send address changes to: Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR 97439; phone 541-997-3441; fax 541-997-7979. All press releases may be sent to PressReleases@TheSiuslawNews.com. Jenna Bartlett Ned Hickson Susan Gutierrez Cathy Dietz Ron Annis Publisher, ext. 318 Editor, ext. 313 Multimedia Sales Director, ext. 326 Office Supervisor, ext. 312 Production Supervisor DEADLINES: Wednesday Issue—General news, Monday noon; Budgets, four days prior to publication; Regular classified ads, Monday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Monday noon; Dis- play classified ads, Friday 5 p.m. Saturday Issue—General news, Thursday noon; Budgets, two days prior to pub- lication; Regular classified ads, Thursday 1 p.m.; Display ads, Thursday noon; Display classified ads, Wednesday 5 p.m. Soundings, Tuesday 5 p.m. NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In Lane County — 1-year subscription, $79; 6-month in-county, $56; 10-week subscription, $25; Out of Lane County — 1-year subscription, $102; 6-month out- of-county, $69; 10-week subscription, $35; Out of State — 1-year subscription, $134; E-Edition Online Only (Anywhere) — 1-year subscription, $65. Mail subscription includes E-Edition. Website and E-Edition: TheSiuslawNews.com Letters to the Editor policy The Siuslaw News welcomes letters to the edi- tor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are sub- ject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of let- ters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumen- tative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or documented will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside the Siuslaw News readership area will only be pub- lished at the discretion of the editor. Political/Election Letters: Election-related letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. Letters must 1) Not be a part of letter-writing campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) En- sure any information about a candidate is accu- rate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) Explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship and cam- paign-style rhetoric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and platforms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publish- er, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. Email letters to: nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com WHERE TO WRITE Pres. Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414 FAX: 202-456-2461 TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213 www.whitehouse.gov Oregon Gov. Kate Brown 160 State Capitol 900 Court St. Salem, Ore. 97301-4047 Governor’s Citizens’ Rep. Message Line: 503-378-4582 www.oregon.gov/gov U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden 221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-5244 541-431-0229 www.wyden.senate.gov U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley 313 Hart Senate Office Bldg Washington, DC 20510 202-224-3753 FAX: 202-228-3997 541-465-6750 www.merkley.senate.gov U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.) 2134 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 202-225-6416 541-269-2609 541-465-6732 www.defazio.house.gov State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5) 900 Court St. NE - S-417 Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1705 FAX: 503-986-1080 Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@ oregonlegislature.gov State Rep. Caddy McKeown (Dist. 9) 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 503-986-1409 Email: rep.caddymckeown @oregonlegislature.gov West Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich 125 E. Eighth St. Eugene, OR 97401 541-682-4203 FAX: 541-682-4616 Email: Jay.Bozievich@ co.lane.or.us
