PEORIA - Some of the worst economic news in the newspapers is about newspapers.
Long–established papers in Seattle and Denver shut down.
There's the threat of the same in Boston and San Francisco.
Money and jobs are flying out the doors of many newspapers.
And the industry is in transition.
News 25 took an in-depthy look at what that means for the newspaper you read: the Journal Star and The Pantagraph.
Do you check the obituaries? You'll find some newsrooms there.
What about the bankruptcies? A lot of them there.
Health news? It was difficult to find an American newspaper not in pain last year. Ad revenue fell more than 16%. And then the news got real bad.
"What happened was the recession happened that we're in. I think the cash flows of many newspapers have been subdued by the recession," said Journal Star Publisher Ken Mauser.
And central Illinois' newspapers were not immune to the pain. The Journal Star's owner Gatehouse saw its stock price fall to pennies per share. Layoffs in a newsroom that has shrunk by 30% in about a decade.
"There's not a person in the newsroom today whose job or job description is exactly the same as a couple years ago. We've evolved. We're taking on more for sure and there's the trick. Morale can be an issue," said Journal Star Managing Editor John Plevka.
They tell a similar story at the Pantagraph in the Twin Cities. Auto, real estate, employment advertising drying up. Some cutbacks, including in the newsroom.
"It has been a pretty tough environment for the last year or so," said Pantagraph Publisher Richard Johnston.
And yet both the Pantagraph and Journal Star also share a story of hope.
That in a world wide web of blogs and twitters and viral videos...local reporting is still relevant and sought after. John Plevka says almost a quarter million people look at the Journal Star Sunday paper.
"The thirst for information is still there. The hunger, the appetite for the information is still out there," said Plevka. " Libraries have been busier. Whether it's the web or listening to talk radio or whatever the outlet, the thirst for information is there. That bodes well for newspapers and our family of products."
"It's better here."
That's Jennifer Towery, and she's not with the Chamber of Commerce. Towery is a Journal Star editor and, more relevantly, the head of the Peoria Newspaper Guild – the newsroom union.
And she says the Journal Star would be even better with local owners and in effect becoming a charity case.
The Guild is pushing for the paper to become a L3C, a for–profit corporation that qualifies as a charity.
"It's brand new. It's only been around since last April, so a lot of people don't know about it. It's a hybrid of a not–for–profit and a for–profit. The catch is it's only available to businesses that a social benefit. You have to operate with profits second and social mission first," said Towery.
A lot would have to happen for the Journal to become an L3C, starting with approval by the federal government. And Gatehouse would have to sell. The publisher says the paper's not for sale.
"I think the for–profit model for newspapers will survive," said Mauser.
And the publishers of both the Journal Star and Pantagraph say their papers will survive. In print and on the web.
It is better here. But like everywhere else in the news world, it's going to be different here, too.
"I think that there will be a printed product, but not necessarily seven days a week. There will be a few days a week and that would be supplemented by some kind of on–line subscription," said The Pantagraph's Johnston.
"We have a large, dedicated professionally trained journalism staff that brings to the community the important issues with in–depth coverage, and that's what's most important. The platform will work itself out as the market kind of tells us which direction to go with that," said Mauser.
The local publishers, as well as those around the country, say the next big change will be charging you for what you've been getting for free on the newspaper websites.
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