Staff reports
news@morningsun.net
It’s been a busy and exciting couple of weeks since we launched our Support Local Journalism Project capital campaign and the response has been heartwarming. It has been encouraging to see the community engage in conversations about the value of and need for local journalism and we are inspired by your stories of how local journalism impacts your lives.
As the conversation has gone on, you’ve asked some good questions. We’ve selected a few common ones to answer, today.
Q. Who owns the newspaper and why are they seeking community financial help?
A. The paper is owned by 17 local families who bought the paper in 2021 to save it from being bundled with other newspapers and sold off by Gannet Publishing, a move that would have diminished local news coverage, which had already suffered severely under corporate out-of-state ownership.
Although the new local owners were aware of the print newspaper crisis across the United States, they understood the value that a local print news presence brings to a community and they believed that our city and county needed and deserved that local news source. They took a risk to save the newspaper for the community. Since 2021 the local owners have invested more than $500,000 to continue to provide a five-days-a-week local print news source. All of the financial support has been invested into staffing, equipment and software. The ownership equity positions have been depleted.
Q. Explain your business model and why it is that someone can make a charitable donation to support local journalists?
A. The sudden death of the old business model has inspired legacy newspapers like the Morning Sun, all across the U.S., to think creatively about new ways to ensure that local journalism can thrive in this new environment. The Morning Sun is one of more than 250 newspapers that have adopted a new “hybrid model.” This is how it works:
The Community Foundation can accept donations and other foundation funds for the “Support Local Journalism Fund” through private philanthropy. The Community Foundation then identifies the local journalism reporting projects through contracts and grants with the Morning Sun. The Morning Sun and Pittsburg State University are collaborative partners overseeing the journalism projects sponsored by the “Support Local Journalism Project.”
Collaborations are becoming more common as newspaper closures and consolidations happen across the country. This proven model, which we have adopted, is the only foreseeable plan that ensures a sustainable future for the newspaper. This model incorporates philanthropy, indirectly, into the business model of The Morning Sun without changing the tax status of the organization itself.
Q. Why don’t you cut expenses?
A. This is part of the Morning Sun’s daily routine. The newspaper is continually looking at ways to cut expenses and run more efficiently while at the same time doing a better job of covering local news. Staff has been reduced to the bare minimum. We even reduced the weight of the paper for the print edition. Many newspapers have opted to reduce the number of days they print and that is an ongoing study at the Morning Sun. A decision like that, however, must be weighed alongside the impact on our community. Yes, we provide the local news every day online, but a number of subscribers want and need a physical printed newspaper.
Q. Why don't you have more advertisers?
A. Traditionally, advertising made up about 60 percent of most newspapers’ revenue. The internet, Google and Facebook changed everything. The old model suddenly didn’t work anymore. It seemed that the change happened overnight. Today, advertisers are overwhelmed by options and while their effectiveness may sometimes be questionable, they are cheap. The Morning Sun averages more than 7,000 readers daily with our print and e edition and14,000 Facebook followers who have access to a limited number of articles. The paper works to keep its advertising value affordable and it reaches a dedicated audience of readers who support local.
Q. What's the future of the newspaper if we raise $100,000?
A. For the long-term sustainability of local print news, we envision this campaign will need to be an annual event. There will need to be annual giving sponsors each year.
All of us at the Morning Sun appreciate so much each of you who has made a financial contribution through the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas. We are also thrilled to have many new subscribers, whom we look forward to serving in the weeks, months, and years ahead.
We encourage you to stay engaged, keep the conversation going and keep local journalism alive in southeast Kansas.
