It’s been eight years since the first edition of Lebanon Local appeared, an effort to keep a newspaper in a city that we believed needed one.
The Lebanon Express, which had served the community for well over a century, was visibly declining, thanks in part to decisions made by out-of-state ownership (more on that in a moment). Local prominent citizens encouraged my wife and I, who were publishers of The New Era weekly in Sweet Home, to “start something here in Lebanon.”
We decided we could, with the resources we had available, produce a monthly newspaper in print and a website that covered as much of Lebanon happenings as possible. We always hoped to build it to weekly status, and we actually had specific intentions to do that in 2020, but then COVID hit and it was a fight for survival, period.
Now it’s a fight for survival again. Faithful readers may recall how we sold our family-owned newspaper operation to a former employee, Chris Chapman, roughly 18 months ago, in the summer of 2023. We really weren’t looking to retire, necessarily (we’ve been very busy since then), but we saw an opportunity to get the newspapers into the hands of someone who was younger and who we believed could develop both into news sources that could successfully cater to a wider age range of readers.
Chris has made great strides in branding, creating solid digital platforms, and mainstreaming many of the processes that go into producing a paper and online news. Recently, though, he notified us that the newspapers were in trouble. There are a lot of balls that have to be juggled to successfully run a newspaper in today’s world, and he told us he’d had difficulty keeping all those in the air. He’d had trouble with turnover. Advertising had fallen off precipitously.
When we analyzed the situation, we could see that the newspapers were, quite honestly, close to collapse financially. This newspaper operation was in critical condition.
Chris told us he wanted to return the operation to us. We knew we needed to move decisively and fast if we had any hope of salvaging the situation. In mid-December I wrote an editorial in The New Era detailing this. The response from Sweet Home was overwhelming – aggressive and generous. So much so that it didn’t take long for us to decide to go for it, to commit ourselves to turning this thing around.
Difficult Days for Newspapers
Lebanon Local is part of this. The situation was so fast-moving and ever-changing that we decided to focus on Sweet Home first, to see if there was enough support to even try to keep any newspaper going.
Then, while all this was happening, the Brownsville Times died, on Dec. 6, after 150-some years of serving that community.
This hasn’t happened in a vacuum. In this business we’ve sustained the proverbial “thousand cuts” over the last 30 years. Put bluntly, just about every possible thing that could go wrong has in the newspaper business.
Recently, someone handed me a report from the Oregon Journalism Project, a new, nonprofit investigative journalism effort, which points out how Craigslist, Meta and Google, in particular, have sucked up dollars that not long ago supported local newspapers.
“Across the country, this has driven local newspapers out of business or resulted in zombie newsrooms,” the report states, noting that more than “68% of our state’s incorporated cities, and three entire counties, now lack a local news source.”
The state’s three once-largest newspapers, the Oregonian, the Register-Guard in Eugene and the Statesman Journal in Salem are mere shadows of what they once were – thriving, prize-winning journals that kept politicians accountable with watchdog journalism.
Why should you care?
So what can happen if your local newspaper disappears? Researchers who have looked into the struggles facing newspapers have identified a variety of key impacts that can or will affect a local community that has lost its newspaper.
Less government accountability: Without a reporter in the room, government officials do not feel that presence and, frankly, can find it easier to go places they shouldn’t. The media provide constraints, public scrutiny of government activities. Government officials who are not experiencing scrutiny from the media may be less inclined to be transparent and responsible with public funds, and more prone to abuse of power. When you support your newspaper, your money helps pay the cost of keeping a reporter in the room.
Reduced civic engagement: Without access to local news, people are less likely to stay informed about community events, participate in local politics, or vote. Facebook and other popular social media generally do not cut it for voters looking for non-biased analysis of a candidate’s qualifications, experience and perspectives on issues – particularly on the local level. Typically, if such is provided, it’s by your newspaper. Maybe you’re not a regular reader, but if Lebanon Local and The New Era disappear, you will no longer have that option when you want to engage in public life.
Diminished sense of community: Not only do local newspapers report what’s happening in a community’s political and other arenas, but they also can play a role in fostering a shared identity and understanding within a community. They report on such elements of community life as sports and academic achievements, talented people and their accomplishments, volunteerism, exceptional endeavors and successes, the unique accomplishments of individuals who might otherwise go unrecognized.
Unlike the broad and sensational topics that dominate national news and people’s personal devices, Lebanon Local is hyper-local in its coverage of politics, local organizations and local activities that might otherwise go entirely unreported or publicized in the sensationalized context of social media. If activities, trends or challenges within a community are not reported accurately and sensitively, how can the community respond to them?
Newspapers provide local relevance.
Lost historical record: Your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and others can find details about life in Lebanon through archived newspapers. For 135 years the Lebanon Express provided many of those details, but it no longer exists. More recently, Lebanon Local has taken up that role, on a – thus far – more limited scale. Without a local newspaper, a hundred years – or even a decade – from now, will your descendants be able to find quotes from residents, details from meetings, and factual information about anything, really, from social media platforms that may no longer even exist in the future?
Community newspapers have always been one of the best one-stop-shop, go-to sources for rich details that future generations will appreciate.There is little reason to depend on social media’s ability to provide accurate, historical information dating several decades – or even centuries – back. How often have you fruitlessly searched for something on social media that you know you saw just a week ago?
Increased political polarization: Newspapers can provide access to diverse political viewpoints, usually in a non-confrontational (even-handed) tone and manner. When all people listen to is commentary and purported news that confirms their biases, that’s not healthy for a community.
Social media are notorious for the spread of incomplete or outright false information. Communities without a newspaper tend to become more divided along political lines.
Potential for misinformation: When a community lacks a reliable news source, it is subject to all manner of false or misleading information, perpetuated (consciously or unconsciously) by individuals or entities that may not be committed to truth and integrity.
Absent Economic Contribution: Despite the competition from social media, community newspapers continue to provide a very affordable option for businesses seeking to promote themselves to local people, who are the most likely to become loyal customers. Social media might get eyeballs across the world, but it doesn’t always produce local foot traffic for a brick-and-mortar business.
Newspapers also provide business coverage, stories about local entrepreneurs, and generally provide visibility to small businesses, which contribute to a thriving local economy. I don’t think I’m the only one who appreciates business news that is fair, if not sycophantic.
Absence of In-Depth Reporting: What you get from social media, radio and TV is usually cursory, at best. Even though the newspaper can’t do all we’d like to – mostly because of staff limitations – I don’t think anybody would argue that they can’t get more in-depth coverage from Lebanon Local than from other sources, other than maybe one-on-one with knowledgeable sources (which are the people we get our news from). No newspaper, no in-depth reporting at all.
How Can We Correct This Situation?
This is a crisis situation, but one we truly believe can be remedied. I’m confident that Miriam and I have the demonstrated ability and knowledge necessary to run a successful newspaper and, with proper staffing, restore it to financial health – if we have enough resources to get it done. January through March, though, are the leanest months for newspaper revenue and so, of course, that just makes this more difficult.
This has been a day-to-day evolving situation that has become much more positive with the support we’ve received from the Sweet Home community to keep its newspaper alive.
The New Era and Lebanon Local are a service – to their communities. They’ve never been a cash cow. I can honestly say that while we made a modest – sustainable – living from the newspaper operations when we owned the newspapers, we didn’t draw large take-home checks. Since I left, I’ve spent a lot of time as a substitute teacher in local schools and I can honestly say I make a better living doing that than I did as publisher of your newspaper.
But we believe that both Lebanon’s and Sweet Home’s residents will be the losers if their newspapers disappear, and that’s why we’re committed to try to remedy this situation. What the end result will look like is still a question, but we hope it winds up with even better service to Lebanon readers.
If you’re interested in that result, the question is what can you do to help? Here are some options:
– Businesses can help by advertising, promoting themselves on the pages of the local newspaper as often as possible.
– Individuals can help by purchasing subscriptions – I know the increased price has been a stretch for many, but it’s still a lot better deal, frankly, than even buying a cup of coffee once a week in today’s economy.
– Anyone who doesn’t need to advertise can simply contribute. What you give will help as we hire staff and rebuild the business side of the newspaper, which supports the people who show up at those city meetings and cover your community events. Since this has been a lot more spur-of-the-moment than any of us would have liked, we’ve set up an accountability panel of respected citizens in Sweet Home – to which we will report regularly the donations we’ve received and account for how we’ve spent the money. If Lebanon readers and citizens add to those contributions, we will add at least one representative from Lebanon to this accountability panel. We want this to be strictly on the up-and-up.
For more details you can contact me or Miriam personally at (541) 367-2135, or stop by at 1313 Main St. in Sweet Home (directly across the street from the Chevron station) after 11 a.m. on any weekday other than Tuesday. Donations can be sent to: The New Era, 1313 Main St., Sweet Home, OR 97386
Prefer to use your credit card? Stop by the office or call us at (541) 367-2135.
Thanks for reading.