How Wisconsin’s Small Newspapers Endure
Amid decline in local papers some survive by fostering community connections.
Daniel R. Blume (CC-BY-SA)
Pat and Mike Reilly do their best to cover the local stories that matter most to residents of Iowa County.
The brothers are co-owners of The Dodgeville Chronicle, the Pecatonica Valley Leader and The Democrat Tribune in Mineral Point, which have been in their family for close to a century.
“We’re reporting the news, doing our best and keeping the public informed, and people seem to enjoy it,” Pat Reilly told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “We do different things to try to show the community we care, and they respond in kind.”
But in the shrinking journalism landscape, locally owned news outlets like theirs are becoming rare.
A new study from Muck Rack and the nonprofit Rebuild Local News found that Iowa County is one of 36 Wisconsin counties with fewer than five local journalists covering them.
According to the data, 15 counties in the state have no local reporters.
“Wisconsin Today” connected with publishers from three local news organizations to find out how they’ve been able to survive the trends that have swallowed up so many other community news outlets.
Local connections
As some of the larger newspapers in the state have been bought up by national media companies, Pat Reilly feels that the strong connection to the local community is what keeps his smaller operation rolling.
“A lot of work goes into listening to people and trying to make sure that they get their news needs met,” Reilly said. “We follow up on some good news leads and try to stay on top of the community based on what the people here are talking about and what they really want to know.”
Kris O’Leary’s family-owned newspapers are having a similar experience in rural Marathon and Clark counties.
The Tribune-Phonograph in Abbotsford has been in her family for generations as one of five outlets of which she serves as owner and publisher.
O’Leary told “Wisconsin Today” that she’s seen the larger newspapers nearby in the Chippewa Valley and Wausau covering the smaller surrounding communities less, and her papers are filling the need.
“We’re trying to cover the things that they’re not going to see anywhere else,” O’Leary said. “That’s attending school board meetings, city council, village meetings. … It’s covering our county board meetings that the big newspapers have forgotten about, and then being at the events that are happening in our communities.”
She said that consistent presence has been critical for her journalists to build trust with the communities they cover.
She has nine editorial staff members across her five papers that have found their niche in the rural cities and villages that don’t get much coverage elsewhere.
“I think we do have a level of trust because we are not afraid to step on toes or hurt feelings because we want the truth out there,” O’Leary said. “I think that helps people realize our main focus is making sure we have strong communities and we represent our communities, but we’re going to be honest and truthful in how we cover things.”
Diversity of voices
Over in Eau Claire, residents don’t have a shortage of news outlets to choose from, but the alternative publication Volume One is trying to carve out a niche of its own.
Bigger local newspapers like the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram and The Chippewa Herald are owned by Adams Publishing Group and Lee Enterprises, respectively, but Volume One is an independently owned outlet that focuses on arts and culture.
Managing Editor McKenna Scherer told “Wisconsin Today” that the magazine grew into covering more news over its 23 years of existence, in part thanks to the trust it built with the community.
“We needed and wanted to fill that void that we felt was there, relating arts and the vibrancy that was here that wasn’t necessarily getting covered,” Scherer said. “That trust that we have with the community is just built in because they associate us with slightly different things.”
Whether it’s a newer operation like Volume One or a multi-generational newspaper family, locally owned news outlets in Wisconsin are holding on thanks to the connections they make with the people they cover.
Wisconsin’s small newspapers endure by fostering community connections was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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