Every day local newspapers do the work of informing their communities about issues that affect their lives. They are the unsung heroes of democracy in rural and small community households across the country. Newspapers even the playing field when it comes to delivering information to rural areas. Like so many treasures that are not valued until they are lost, the local newspaper is something people can take for granted until it is no longer available.

It is National Newspaper Week and while we celebrate newspapers across the country, it’s important to note their current predicament and what could actually be lost in communities without newspapers. Two newspapers a week close or shut down in our country according to a June 29, 2022 report by the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. The country is set to lose a third of its newspapers by 2025. The bulk of the newspapers that closed were weeklies. According to the report, the U.S. has 6,380 surviving papers: 1,230 dailies and 5,150 weeklies. When the newspaper arrives in a reader’s hands its content truly matters. The newspaper could and should be more than a newsletter of events. It has a grander and more profound role to fulfill in its readers’ lives. Bringing experts on a topic of concern to a community through the local newspaper provides a front row seat to personalized information readers cannot receive elsewhere. Whether it is an interview with the CEO of the Arkansas Rural Water Association or the President of the Arkansas Plant Board, the role of the local newspaper has the power to bring experts into the homes of local residents. We have seen in our own town the impact our newspaper has on city and county issues in its role as watchdog and as a voice of its people.

Local newspapers’ reaction to the pandemic is a prime example of their impact on the health and lives of an area’s residents. I’m the editor of a smalltown newspaper in northeast Arkansas called the Clay County Courier in Corning. The following are just a few of the measures that were taken to help residents in our small county make knowledgeable decisions about their health and the health of their families.

The first article in the Courier concerning COVID-19 was an interview that appeared in the March 19, 2020 issue with Dr. Appathurai Balamurugan or Dr. Bala as he is known; Acting Chief Medical Officer at the Arkansas Department of Health. At the time of the interview Arkansas had only 22 cases of COVID-19 and they were in primarily in Pulaski County. Our readers read as Dr. Bala explained how doctors were learning about the virus and likened it to flying a plane while trying to build it.

Of great importance to our community was the research data that was personalized for Clay County from interviews with Misty Orpin, creator of ArkansasCovid.com who initially started collecting COVID-19 data because there was no way to track the record cases for the average person. She provided the specific data for Clay County for our newspaper to share with the community. Our readers had information provided that they could not get anywhere else at the time. This information was more vital to their daily lives and the health of their families than anything they saw on televised news or in large metropolitan newspapers. This is but one shining example of why community newspapers are local heroes and why they must be protected and supported.

At a time when residents were afraid of taking the vaccine, Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, the state’s epidemiologist and now the Director of the Arkansas Department of Health, explained the ingredients in the three manufacturers’ vaccines and how they worked within the body. She described to the readers of the Courier the research behind the vaccines in a way that laypeople could understand. Where else could rural residents receive such information specific to them, if not from their local newspaper?

Through the course of the pandemic our newspaper provided news content and interviews with various COVID experts, many from the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine on the Jonesboro Campus of Arkansas State University, such as; Dr. Brookshield Laurent, Dr. Shane Speights, Dean of NYITCOM at Arkansas State University, Dr. Carl Abraham, M.D. Infectious Disease Specialist, Dr. Christine Hartford and Jonathan Berman, Ph.D. author of “Anti-Vaxxers: How to Challenge a Misinformed Movement”.

We also interviewed Arkansas Center of Health Improvements (ACHI) CEO Dr. Joe Thompson a few times. As the pandemic wore on, we addressed residents’ mental health with interviews with Matt Knight, Director of Education for MidSouth Health Systems concerning how to combat anxiety and stress. We provided an interview with a travel nurse with local ties, Kylie Ballard, who alerted our community to the effects of COVID-19 on patients across the United States. She explained how dire the situation was to a rural community that had not yet felt the extreme health impact of COVID at that time.

During the beginning of the pandemic, we informed our readers of the plight of the local health care center, 1st Choice Healthcare, as they were straining to keep up with the demand for medical supplies, such as masks, gloves, gowns, hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes. The clinic’s need was so great that the staff was using OB dairy sleeves used in calf deliveries so when workers put their arms in a car to take care of a patient in the drivethrough they were protected.

The Courier also shared the stories of good works in our community such as when the Corning School District donated the use of their 3-D printer to the healthcare clinic in order for them to create as many face shields as they needed for their health professionals.

During virtual schooling in Arkansas our newspaper shared the local story of how the school district made sure no child went hungry during the pandemic by distributing food to children’s homes. The buses rolled out at 11 a.m. once a week with five days of breakfasts and lunches to be delivered to homes on bus routes. School administrators, cafeteria employees, bus drivers and teachers worked to pack the lunches and get the ready for delivery. In order to increase vaccinations in the county, the Courier started a #VaxUpClayCo campaign. We brought together our two local pharmacists and the CEO of our local health clinic to share the importance of getting immunized in ad running for six weeks. Some local businesses who supported the push to curtail the virus in our county signed on to the advertising promotion.

I was reminded during each interview with physicians and healthcare officials of the importance of the work our small local paper was doing for our community. I’ll never be convinced that small newspapers cannot do great things to impact the lives of its friends and neighbors.

A local newspaper means different things to different people. For some, their paper is a slice of home. For others it’s information about the city council and the workings of the city. Those looking to buy or sell something head to the Classifieds. Many people favor the Sports page, Education or Farm pages. For others, it may be the grocery circular. The Society page remains a long time favorite in our community. A newspaper enables and empowers community voices to come forward through Letters to the Editor, the sharing of their life stories and events with a community of readers.

Local newspapers are the pulse and thermometer of a community. They are a good neighbor and watchdog rolled into a publication. The people who produce a newspaper live and/or work in their community. They have a stake in the town and what happens there. That means something.

Now is the time that businesses and the public need to support their newspapers, their local heroes. The only local news source that truly has the backs of a community is their newspaper. It’s time the public upholds their paper as it has championed for them.

The examples provided concerning reporting during the pandemic are but a small snapshot of what a newspaper provides to a community. There’s also the role of watchdog, Freedom of Information aspects, elections and politics, and the responsibility of transparency, etc. The list goes on of all the valuable attributes of local papers that would be missed once gone.

At the Courier our motto is “Buying a newspaper is more than having something to read. It’s an investment in the future of your hometown.” And it truly is. It’s time the public becomes aware that their local hero is also a local business that needs their support while there is still time for them to realize what is at stake and what could be lost before it is too late.

Readers may contact Pam Lowe at pamlowe@claycountycourier.com This column is published in the Oct. 6 issue of the Arkansas Press Association’s publication, Publisher’s Weekly.