By DEAN REA/Correspondent/The Herald — While the number of printed newspapers continues to decline and news is shifting to on-line platforms, three industry spokespersons voiced optimism Friday that papers like the Highway 58 Herald will survive and will continue to focus on informing readers about governmental affairs.
George Custer, editor and board chairman of The Herald, was one of three speakers during the Eugene City Club session that explored the question: “Can Local Newspapers Be Saved?”
Other speakers were Steve Forrester, president and CEO of on-line and print media newspapers in Oregon, and Jackman Wilson, former editorial page editor of The Register-Guard.
The topic was framed by a Thomas Jefferson quote: “A democratic society depends on an informed and educated citizenry.”
Custer described how a group of citizens concerned about the state of local government led to the establishment of the Herald a year-and-a-half ago. The on-line paper was edited by retired Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Bates, who recently retired because of health reasons. A non-profit organization was formed that continues to seek financing to hire a full-time editor.
The fund-raising efforts of the Herald are among those pursued by other Oregon newspapers, the speakers said. Advertising revenue has disappeared in numerous markets, and a number of newspapers have switched from print to on-line publication, knowing that readers often are hesitant to pay relatively little for news that they formerly paid for a subscription.
Forrester described how members of his family have adjusted to a new business model that combines on-line and print publications as the market and technology changed. Wilson, who spent 43 years as a journalist, said the primary responsibility of the press is “to hold local governmental officials accountable.”
The Register-Guard that Wilson said he knew as the editorial page editor is now “a different newspaper,” one that no longer publishes seven days a week and no longer assigns reporters to cover many local governmental meetings. Meanwhile, it is developing an on-line presence.
Forrester struck an optimistic tone in describing how start-up enterprises like the Highway 58 Herald can succeed with the help of various funding sources. “There’s money out there,” he said.
“However,” Forester said, “if you don’t have local content, no one is going to read you.”
How that may be accomplished is another question based on reporting by the Columbia Journalism Review that the number of newspaper newsroom employees has dropped from 71,640 to 30,820 since 2004.
“It’s getting tougher every day,” Custer said, noting “the need to correct what’s often on social media” about local government affairs.
“We have to let people know what’s going on in City Hall,” he said.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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