COVID-19 and the “Golden Era”: Turning the page on rural, weekly newspaper production

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2023

Publication Title

Newspaper Research Journal

Abstract

The rural weekly newspaper industry rooted in traditional geographically bounded U.S. communities was long thought to have been shielded from industry dilemmas—revenue and circulation—at larger mainstream daily newspapers. However, recent data show a shift in these rural community journalism trends, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Using normative theory and diffusion of innovations, this study examines how rural weekly newspaper publishers perceived, nearly 18 months after the onset of the pandemic, how COVID-19 impacted their newspapers’ advertising, news, technology, and community involvement. Survey results reveal short-term and long-term content and financial challenges plague U.S. rural grassroots information sources with circulation less than 3,000—indicating the end of the “golden era” of weekly newspapers. Despite the constraints, publishers remain optimistic and dedicated to their audiences, albeit reluctant to swift change, as they perceive themselves as the only reliable information source for their rural communities.

Department

Communication

Volume Number

44

Issue Number

4

First Page

466

Last Page

483

DOI

10.1177/07395329231193998

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS