The most visited post on any of the blogs this week came at Inside Carthage with the revelation that Ace Mohr, who is free on bond while awaiting trial on multiple felonies including dealing cocaine and heroin, was arrested for DUI and may have his bond revoked.
The Turner Report
1. Former resident: Wake up, Carthage; we need a reliable news source
2. Drastic cuts made at Neosho Daily News, Carthage Press
3. Future in doubt for Sears store at Northpark Mall
4. Federal prosecutor wants Joplin man held without bond
5. How do we attract veteran teachers to come to the Joplin R-8 School District?
6. Joplin doctor pleads not guilty to statutory rape, sodomy charges
7. Joplin R-8 candidates deal with questions on transgender bathroom, teacher retention, and other issues
8. League City pays $217K severance to Mark Rohr
9. Forfeiture proceedings underway for nearly $600K seized from convicted Joplin businessman
10. Ed Emery meets with vulgar, profane "I guess they call themselves transgenders"
Inside Joplin
1. Joplin Police DWI checkpoint at 7th and Illinois nets 22 arrests, 10 DWIs
2. Joplin, Galena teens in custody after car burglary spree
3. Neosho woman charged with DWI after slamming into two mailboxes
4. Carthage man arrested after holding ex-girlfriend and her brother at gunpoint
5. Plane crashes north of Thorne and County Road 220
6. Five people injured in three-car chain reaction accident on Gateway Drive
7. Crowder construction technology cabins for sale
8. Jasper County Dissolution of Marriage Petitions
9. Jasper County Sheriff's Office Arrests
10. Jasper County Sheriff arrests two Joplin men for domestic assault, child abuse
Inside Carthage
1. Carthage Police arrests Ace Mohr for DUI, motion to revoke bond filed
2. Work progresses on Carthage High School multi-purpose complex
3. Carthage Police seeking information on River Street Laundry burglary, vandalism
4. Carthage man arrested after holding ex-girlfriend and her brother at gunpoint
5. Gatehouse Media cutting jobs at Carthage Press, Neosho Daily, spending $200 million to buy more papers
6. Carthage Press publisher: Once a week will make us stronger, more robust
7. Students to take over Carthage City Council, fireworks purchase also on tap
8. Carthage High School's David Ortiz signs to play soccer at NEO
9. Deadline approaching for Carthage Maple Leaf opportunities
10. Former Carthage resident: We need a reliable news source
Inside Joplin Obituaries
1. Eddie Potts
2. Christine Davis
3. Laura Gideon
4. LaVada Stephens
5. Jim Truelove
6. Charlie Tabb
7. Floyd Nichols
8. Fred Shellenberger
9. Wayne McCollum
10. Mary Riley
3 comments:
Randy...a question for you. I know you've worked on small newspapers before, what is the solution to making these small papers viable again so they can be more than a once a week publication?
It would not be easy, but part of the problem is that we have gone over the past few decades from newspapers being family-owned to bring parts of chains like Gatehouse Media and Gannett with more allegiance to stockholders than to readers and communities. The family newspapers survived nicely on an eight to 10 percent profit margin, while the chains began boosting those profit margins to close to 40 percent in some cases by making cuts in personnel and coverage. While this strategy was successful for a time, Gatehouse took it to a different level, wildly overpaying for small and medium-sized newspapers and not able to make enough cuts and combine enough services to make it financially viable. Gatehouse, like all newspaper chains, did not adjust to the arrival of the internet and began losing circulation and classified advertising and eventually display advertising. It is a company that will not be able to adjust because it has made no effort to improve its products. It cuts jobs, moves services out of communities, eliminates most of its local news coverage and then blames the communities for not supporting their local newspapers.
The few remaining newspapers that are locally owned, including one in upstate Missouri that was created to challenge a Gatehouse paper and ended up putting it out of business have been able to have continuing success by offering a local product that actually serves the community. Small weeklies have also continued to have great success, while even some major newspapers have seen a revitalization in recent months by re-emphasizing what should have been the emphasis all along- strong local news coverage.
At this point, Carthage and Neosho might never be able to get back to being daily newspapers. That is how much Gatehouse has contaminated the newspaper market for this area, but at the same time there is no reason why a newspaper that actually serves the community couldn't publish two or three times a week and augment its coverage with a strong social media aspect, website or even a regularly updated blog.
towns the size of carthage and neosho will never financially support a daily paper. the advertisers don't care
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