Meet our writers

Win $1,000







Opinion January 2015

Let's Save America's Newspapers!

By Denton Harris

Thomas Jefferson said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

When I sent a letter to the local paper, I expressed my personal feelings and did not anticipate the landslide reaction to that message. Calls of support came from housewives, management executives, politicians, church leaders. The letter was read at several clubs and group gatherings.

Their feeling: Let's don't lose our newspapers!

Now, I am joining them and millions of others across our great nation in asking for a drive to "save our newspapers!

We need to scream it from the rooftops, solicit advertisers, politicians, every segment of our society and convince them that newspapers are a treasure of our nation and must be saved.

This is the letter that caused the large response:

Please, please don't take away my newspaper because it's part of my daily worship. With numerous big-city papers facing financial problems – and some even closing completely after futile efforts to find a buyer – it seems nearly all are in great danger of leaving the scene and changing the daily habit of millions of us.

The critics, and even some of the publishing analysts, say the public is turning to the Internet to get news. I challenge their claims. There are thousands of us here in the hinterlands who love our newspapers. I certainly do. Nothing replaces the joy of having a cup of coffee and breakfast with the morning paper. The daily paper is almost an appendage to my body each day.

In a small way, I pray for those hometown weeklies that all of us who come from elsewhere subscribe to and read with tremendous pleasure. But still these papers serve a purpose; they really spread the relish on the daily living of good people in the community. May they, too, never vanish from our reading lists.

Here are samples of comments from readers of my letter: "I can't imagine life without my local paper...it's part of my daily routine...I religiously have coffee and paper each morning...I study the news and also absorb the ads....I get more facts from the paper than TV or radio...how can retailers and other outfits selling to the public do without newspapers?"

These comments continued, with each person obviously having a relationship with his daily paper unlike any other media.

I asked each person would he or she join a movement to save the newspapers. The answer was an enthusiastic 'Yes" with many asking, "What can we do to help?"

What can they – and you – do to save our newspapers? The answer is the newspaper industry must be profitable. They need paid subscribers, advertising and community support. The effort to save papers must be a combination of all involved, led by the newspapers themselves.

Thomas Jefferson said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

It was the firm conviction of our founding fathers that "every American has the right to be informed, and to inform. Freedom of speech and the press was and is considered central to every other freedom in our society."

The first newspaper variation was a daily sheet in 59 BC in Rome, listing daily events. Julius Caesar had this sheet posted throughout the city.

When Johannes Gutenberg used his press to print the Bible, this ushered in a period that resulted in growing production of print in newspapers, magazines and books through Europe.

Germany had the first regularly published newspaper in Europe in l609. About 44 years later England's first newspaper, the Oxford Gazette, was published. With double columns it was the first true newspaper.

By the l700s, with rising literacy, the growing postal system and new states, the editorial content was enjoyable and newspapers grew from the first U.S. daily...the Pennsylvania Packet.

By the Revolutionary War's end in 1783, America had 43 newspapers in print. These, along with a growing list of upcoming papers, played a vital role in the affairs of the new nation. This period birthed many new papers, representing all types of political opinion. Numerous papers started a "no holds barred" kind of journalism, much of it libelous by modern standards.

Ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791 guaranteed freedom of the press. By 1814 there were 346 papers, with advances in printing leading to an explosion of newspaper growth. These improvements, along with a large inventory of newsprint, made it possible to produce a paper that could be sold for a penny per copy. This made newspapers, previously available only to the wealthy minority, affordable to the entire public. This availability of cheap but interesting material was a huge impact toward universal literacy, now taken for granted in America.

In the 1800s, when that penny paper was for sale, the newspapers had an increased mass market. In 1878 the first full-page advertisements appeared, much to the delight of readers, especially the ladies.

During the last few years many newspapers, both large and small, are facing financial difficulty. Some have sought buyers with no offers. A few have ceased publication while others are on the brink of bankruptcy.

"Save the Newspapers" should be a national campaign, led by the newspapers themselves. They must arouse the public for action, they must create papers that appeal to readers and deliver results to advertisers.

America needs newspapers. We, as individuals, need newspapers. Can the newspaper industry be saved?

 

Denton Harris served in the 86th Infantry in World War II.

Meet Denton