HOT PURSUIT

A few weeks ago, my daughter, who is a marketing guru for a Sioux Falls-based firm, caught me off guard with what I thought was a startling revelation about what once had been considered South Dakota’s largest newspaper. She pointed out how the circulation of the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls has dipped to 3,500.

Say what?

Keep in mind we’re talking about Sioux Falls, a community of about 220,000 people.

To put that in perspective, the circulation for the Steele County Times is hovering right around 3,000 with the population of Steele County at about 37,000. We have almost as much circulation as the Argus Leader which as you can see serves a much larger community and coverage area.

In 2017, the circulation of the Argus Leader was reportedly 23,721. It’s astonishing that this once robust newspaper, like many others around the country, has gone off the rails.

Not surprisingly, the Argus Leader is owned by a corporate chain, Gannett, which is a publicly traded company with more than 200 newspapers under its umbrella. Sound familiar?

I guess I really shouldn’t have been too surprised when my daughter pointed out what’s happening with the Argus Leader. But it’s still stunning and mind boggling to me the plight facing many newspapers in the U.S.

I’ve shared several times in the past how corporate companies have literally disseminated newspapers all over the country in recent years. No state seems immune to this gut-punch mentality that threatens the very existence of local journalism.

It has and is still happening in Minnesota as well. A year ago, Alden Global took the wrecking ball to eight community newspapers in Minnesota. At least one of those communities has come back with a newspaper owned by a different and smaller corporation.

Keeping journalism alive is important to me, especially since it’s been such a big part of my life going back over the past 45 years and even longer. I still have childhood memories of dashing down to the mailbox every Thursday to grab several local newspapers. Once in a while I would even find myself featured in it— in a good way, of course.

I still hear about that same excitement I experienced as a child with people who tell us how much they love their local newspaper. Many can’t wait for that one day a week when their newspaper arrives. 

I believe newspapers play an incredible role in keeping communities together. Local journalism is crucial for community engagement, transparency and accountability, though some people don’t always like the truth to be told. Community newspapers especially are the heartbeat of their communities.

How do we keep local journalism strong?

It’s incumbent upon citizens to subscribe and read their local newspaper. We offer a niche that’s difficult to find anywhere else. We feel we offer a product at a darn good value.

And this week we’re going out to nearly every household in Steele County to give everyone a flavor of what we have to offer. I think it’s something special that you’ll want to consider making a part of your life every week.

Steele Countians and others should feel proud of how they are not facing declining readership and a skeleton of a newspaper like Sioux Falls.

Being in hot pursuit of strong journalism is what will keep this newspaper flourishing well into the future.