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19 Stories

After 133 Years, Newspaper Closes Due to Lack of Staff

'We simply cannot get anybody to work there,' says publisher of 'Moundsville Daily Echo'

(Newser) - The Moundsville Daily Echo, a small, independent daily newspaper in northern West Virginia, has stopped publication after 133 years. Publisher Charlie M. Walton said this week he was "exploring options." Walton told the AP the newspaper published its last edition last Thursday and he locked the doors Friday...

State Budget Has Money for Hiring Local Journalists

New York backers call measure the 'George Santos Prevention Act'

(Newser) - New York state is offering up to $90 million in tax credits for news outlets to hire and retain journalists in an effort to help keep the shrinking local news industry afloat. The US newspaper industry has been in a long decline, driven by factors including a loss in advertising...

Donors Pledge a Half-Billion for Local News Operations

Two newspapers per week are closing in US

(Newser) - The MacArthur Foundation is leading a group of donors that have pledged $500 million to help the struggling local news industry, hoping to seed outlets that can make up for those that have closed or been hollowed out over the past two decades. Led by $150 million donations by the...

Biden Bill Would Boost Local News Outlets

Tax credit would help with the cost of journalists in a struggling industry

(Newser) - News organizations don't often receive financial help from government. But many of them are beyond struggling now; more than 2,100 newspapers have closed since 2004, Pew Research found. They soon could gain a bit of a safety net of their own. Among the provisions in President Biden's...

We Might Be Looking at Issue of Local News Backward

Jack Shafer makes the case that it's a problem with demand, not supply

(Newser) - You've no doubt heard the lament about the death of local news throughout the country and the potentially dire consequences that might result. Local governments operating with no accountability, for instance. Generally, the blame is laid upon on greedy publishers focused on the bottom line or online behemoths such...

John Oliver Segment Gets the Attention of Local News Outlets

Television station groups say they will review procedures after segment

(Newser) - John Oliver on Sunday night delved into the topic of local news and its questionable use of sponsored content—and apparently, the Last Week Tonight segment was quite effective. Two station groups Deadline describes as "major" say they will review their stations' use of sponsored content in response to...

Nextdoor App Is Gaining Clout, but There Are Downsides

Racial profiling, 'ignorant loudmouths' are among them

(Newser) - There's a decent chance you or someone you know uses the Nextdoor app or will in the not-too-distant future, based on a deep dive into the subject by Will Oremus at OneZero . The company doesn't provide numbers, but Oremus extrapolates from data known about Chicago subscribers to estimate...

Owner Will Give Newspaper to the Right Applicant

Knowledge of small-town Alaska is a plus

(Newser) - After eight months as owner of the financially embattled Skagway News, Larry Persily has decided the Alaska newspaper needs a new owner. Finding the right person to make a go of the enterprise is more important to him than a check, so he's set the price for the News...

She Applied for Work at a Job Fair. She Didn't See the Camera

Ja'Naea Modest filled out application while on work break; news crew aired her move that afternoon

(Newser) - Ja'Naea Modest thought she'd been stealthy. On her lunch break from work Friday, the 33-year-old from Champaign, Ill., switched outfits, headed to a job fair, and filled out an application, thinking she needed a change from her current post at a nonprofit serving people with disabilities. "I...

Local News Choppers Are Unnecessary, Reckless
Local News Choppers Are Unnecessary, Reckless
OPINION
Mar 21, 2014 12:48 PM CDT

Local News Choppers Are Unnecessary, Reckless

It's time for people to stop dying in them, Matt Zoller Seitz argues

(Newser) - When a Seattle news helicopter crashed near the Space Needle yesterday, killing two people, it made headlines. But by local news standards it was a "mundane tragedy, part of the cost of doing business," writes Matt Zoller Seitz at New York . At least 18 people have been killed...

Man Fakes Mother's Obit to Take Time Off: Cops

She reads her own obituary in Pennsylvania newspaper

(Newser) - Imagine a mother's surprise when she read her obituary in the local news—and learned her own son had written it. But police in northern Pennsylvania say 45-year-old Scott Bennett ran his mother's obituary in the newspaper so he could take bereavement time off from work. Brookville police...

Say Goodbye to NBC as We Know It
 Say Goodbye 
 to NBC as We Know It 
Matthew Greenberg
Oct 28, 2009 1:54 PM CDT

Say Goodbye to NBC as We Know It

It's probably going be more like a cable network

(Newser) - Monday was a milestone for NBC’s misbegotten Leno experiment: only 4.6 million tuned in, the worst Monday of the year, writes Matthew Greenberg. This is getting so bad it may signal the beginning of the end of NBC as we know it. The network’s rationale for putting...

Anthony May Watch Caylee's Funeral on TV

Jail hasn't decided; TV limits keep her sheltered from media

(Newser) - Casey Anthony has been barred from her daughter's funeral, but she may still get to watch it on TV, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Jail officials haven't decided yet if she can watch Caylee's public service, bound to be telecast on the cable and local stations so inundated with news about...

Web Copyright Lawsuit Could Cripple the Freedom to Link

Community outlet says big papers siphon off page views with mere snippets of info

(Newser) - A local newspaper chain is suing the New York Times Company for pilfering its online content, and the case could dramatically change how news sites link, Danny Sanchez writes on Journalistopia. GateHouse Media says readers can glean enough information from the snippets linked by the Boston Globe and therefore don’...

Cash-Poor Newspapers Decamp From Washington
Cash-Poor Newspapers Decamp From Washington
ANALYSIS
Dec 18, 2008 2:43 PM CST

Cash-Poor Newspapers Decamp From Washington

Cost of covering DC wins out over concerns about informing the public

(Newser) - US newspapers are shuttering their Washington bureaus—though hardly for lack of news, the New York Times reports. Consolidation and a steep fall-off in ad dollars have forced many to reevaluate their coverage in recent years, leading to a focus on local news and a reliance on agencies for coverage...

Who's That Guy on the Local News?
Who's That
Guy on the
Local News?
Dec 1, 2008 8:25 AM CST

Who's That Guy on the Local News?

TV stations replace veteran anchors with cheaper rookies

(Newser) - Across the country, star local news anchors are signing off for good, the New York Times reports, as local network affiliates look for ways to cut costs, and find big anchor salaries tempting targets. Newscasters with more than 20 years behind the desk have been dropped in Chicago, Houston, Denver,...

Stay Tuned to WN- Bleep- C
 Stay Tuned to WN-Bleep-C 
May 13, 2008 10:45 AM CDT

Stay Tuned to WN-Bleep-C

Local anchor drops F-bomb into live mike

(Newser) - A longtime local anchor in New York got her viewers' undivided attention during a promo last night when she said the F-word live, the New York Daily News reports. After the wrong video played as she teased the upcoming news during Medium, 28-year WNBC veteran Sue Simmons said, "What...

Anchors Squirm in HDTV's Glare
Anchors Squirm in HDTV's Glare
Dec 4, 2007 7:45 PM CST

Anchors Squirm in HDTV's Glare

Why Anderson, is that a fatty deposit beneath your left eye?

(Newser) - As HD takes hold, TV personalities face a new challenge: namely, hiding that zit in magnified resolution. Makeup techniques that traditionally hid flaws have become as obvious as the blemishes themselves, the Baltimore Sun reports. And, er, seasoned anchors worry the improvements could shift focus from content to complexion, forcing...

Local TV Pushes Fake Medical News
Local TV Pushes Fake Medical News
Apr 25, 2007 8:51 AM CDT

Local TV Pushes Fake Medical News

Hospital-produced promos are passed off as news reports by local stations

(Newser) - TV stations across America broadcast fake medical news stories that are really ads produced by providers to tout their new techniques and procedures, according to an investigation by the Columbia Journalism Review. “I kick, scream, and fight, and make them as journalistically ethical as possible," says one reporter....

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