Four South Dakota communities are losing their newspapers. Media advocates say without them, residents lose their local connection to the fourth estate, and the distance from citizen to government grows even further.
News Media Corporation, which operated dozens of newspapers across the country, closed suddenly this week. The four South Dakota newspapers closing due to this include the Brookings Register, the Huron Plainsman, the Moody County Enterprise in Flandreau and the Redfield Press. Additionally, papers are shutting down in Nebraska, Arizona, Wyoming and Illinois.
In a statement, Brookings Register Managing Editor Josh Linehan acknowledged all print media is facing struggles — but said “make no mistake — we're closed for now as a result of poor corporate management.”
David Bordewyk is the South Dakota News Media Association’s executive director. He said his thoughts are with staff who lost jobs, but added “this is a gut punch for community journalism in our state. No other way to put it. My hope is that solutions can be found quickly in the affected communities and local journalism can be restored and maintained.”
Jon Hunter is a longtime South Dakota newspaper journalist. He said local journalism plays a key role in communities big or small.
“Newspapers are central to each community, and I might make an argument that the smaller the community the more important it is," Hunter said. "A town like Redfield, which is a trade center — their sense of tying people together, their sense of community. There isn’t really a substitute for that.”
Now, in the era of misinformation and social media, Hunter said cities with papers or other news outlets must make a choice.
“It’s gonna ultimately be up to readers, if they choose to rely on hearsay or Twitter posts or whatever — that’s their choice," Hunter said. "I think solid news organizations with good journalistic integrity are the best way to go for most places.”
Hunter suggests a more localized model, where papers are owned by small groups or single owners, could be a more stable business model than larger corporate papers.
The statement from News Media Corporation can be found below.
