As the pandemic rages, local newspapers try to break through to readers

adadeh123 (16)in #mew • 4 years ago

Media outlets large and small are facing a challenge in connecting with readers despite an outbreak that threatens to spiral out of control in several parts of the country.
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Grace Juarez knows people are tired of newspaper stories about the pandemic.

One of two reporters for The Lufkin Daily News, which serves 35,000 residents in East Texas, she's heard from community members and officials who either don't take Covid-19 seriously or are battling coronavirus fatigue. And she's seen how readers react: Many responses are supportive and thankful of health care workers and the journalists covering the pandemic — but about two-thirds contain messages either denying the reality of the pandemic or calling it misinformation.

“We are committed to showing this no matter what political or religious or whatever beliefs we hold personally," Juarez said. "This is our reality in East Texas. This is what’s going on."

Lufkin, like many communities in the U.S., is dealing with a surge of Covid-19 cases that have led to increased hospitalizations and deaths.

Headlines out of Lufkin echo those of other local newspapers, many of which have recently run front-page stories with some variation of the same message: "It's real." The Arizona Republic led its front page with the headline, “This isn’t hyperbole, This is reality," and The Star Tribune in Minneapolis ran an article with the headline “No beds anywhere."
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With the one-year mark of the first reported coronavirus case nearing, media outlets large and small are facing a challenge in connecting with readers despite an outbreak that threatens to spiral out of control in several parts of the country. And while there’s no shortage of Covid-19 coverage, local media remains more trusted by consumers than national news outlets. Local newspaper subscription numbers have increased in numerous markets amid the pandemic, according to Kristen Hare, the editor of Locally at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, who focuses on how local media is covering the pandemic.

That's been coupled with a resurgence of obituary sections, which are now often several pages long.

“A lot of newsrooms have devoted time and space to telling the individual stories of people we’ve lost to coronavirus,” Hare said. “That’s been a really important function and a way for local newsrooms to remind people of why they’re so important. The New York Times is not coming into your community to collect and tell the stories of everybody there that died of coronavirus.”

The Lufkin Daily News
The Lufkin Daily News front page from Nov. 22, 2020.The Lufkin Daily News
But local media organizations across the U.S. are still in the midst of a decadeslong economic decline. About 1 in 5 newspapers has closed over the past 15 years, sometimes leaving communities with little in the way of community reporting. And the ones that survived have endured deep staff cuts. The Lufkin Daily News is down to two reporters, from three, because of Covid-19-related cuts and switched from printing the paper daily to three times a week, in addition to its daily digital edition.

Newspaper publishers and editors who spoke with NBC News detailed the challenges of covering the pandemic in a highly politicized environment, particularly one that has been brewing for almost a year.

“I’m not sure what the playbook is for a pandemic, but covering events in person where people are actively against wearing masks is especially challenging,” said Erin McIntyre, co-publisher of the Ouray County Plaindealer in western Colorado. “We wear masks to protect ourselves and others, but the reality is when you show up and you’re a reporter and you’re the only one wearing a mask, that changes the dynamic, especially in a rural area when they’re already skeptical and think you’re fake news.”

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4 years ago in #mew by adadeh123 (16)

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