Family-owned paper fends off buyout
The Leader-Telegram
maintains its sovereignty through a commitment to the community it
serves. But for independent newspapers, surviving in an industry that
is more corporate and profit oriented hasn't been easy.
•
Weekly
paper illustrates independents' strife
Chains
worry about profits and quality
A UWEC class survey
found that papers that increasingly chase profits have more unhappy
journalists. But Central Wisconsin Newspapers is still focusing on
local news quality, according to one editor.
Projects
aim to get public involved
Civic journalism is a
relatively recent approach to reporting that goes beyond traditional methods
used in the past. Efforts in this area have garnered praise and drawn
criticism, but one expert says the movement is growing.
Photographers
seek more interaction
Photographer
Dan Powers
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As the change from film to
digital allows photographers to stay at a scene longer and spend more time in the newsroom,
newspapers have been seeking or trying ways to improve communication
between reporters and photographers.
•
Photo departments
lacking diversity
High
profits attract buyers of weeklies
Corporations are
accumulating profitable weeklies and attracting readers with community news.
But one chain that bought a weekly lost circulation. The previous family
owners regained it and doubled circulation in two months.
•
Former
publisher finds reasons to sell weekly
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Sarcastic
ad gets sources to talk on the record
2-1
= improved paper, journalists say
Employees of major
metros in the Twin Cities and Milwaukee say their newspapers became stronger
after merging due to their combined resources. But the mergers resulted in
layoffs, fewer viewpoints and lost competition.
More competition means higher quality
Most journalists at large daily metro papers in the Upper Midwest see competition between newspaper conglomerates as pushing each paper to higher quality -- as long as reporters don’t rush headlong into mistakes.
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Newspapers'
quality rising
Most of the 585 journalists from Wisconsin, the Twin Cities and Duluth who responded to a UWEC class survey say their newspaper has improved since they started there.
• Percentage results for all 40 survey questions
Union
employees see benefits fall
Employees of union newspapers are losing benefits,
women are still making less money than men and circulation is falling despite
increases in quality, the journalists say.
• Circulation
falls despite increase in quality
• Men,
women, minorities see diversity differently
The
'burbs: going beyond the beat
Reporters are working harder than ever to bring readers the human interest
stories they say are wanted, especially in the wake of Journal
Communications purchase of several metro-Milwaukee papers.
Dishing
more local news, less state
Area newspapers are
emphasizing local news more than ever before and also increasing business,
sports and arts and entertainment coverage. By contrast, journalists are
devoting less time and energy to state news.
Gaining
news diversity: What it means
Although hiring diverse employees -- from minorities to women -- is important to many
professionals in the news industry, some of the most affected people say
there has been a lack of serious effort to do so in the past five years.
Newspapers
successful within cluster
Many journalists on chain papers prefer to work for an independent paper, according to a UW-Eau Claire
class survey. But some journalists within Gannett's Winnebago cluster say
their papers are better since the merger.
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