Robert Tomlinson, our news director in Three Rivers, gave a terrific speech to the local Rotary Club about the importance of your local newspaper. I thought I would share a portion with you.
“With our twelve weekly newspapers the mission is the same. To bring you the news of our area with accurate, truthful, and informative reporting. Every week, I’m out and about at meetings, (and so are 20 other reporters we employ) events, festivals, and many sporting events to capture the happenings of our beautiful county and talk with the movers and shakers that make our community what it is.
One of the questions I get asked sometimes is this: Why does a hard-copy local newspaper matter in the Year of our Lord 2026? And the statistics surrounding local journalism means this question is, unfortunately, a legitimate one. According to Northwestern University, the number of newspapers published in the United States has dropped by almost 40 percent since 2005, and daily circulation nationwide since the turn of the century has dropped from between 50 and 60 million to now just over 15 million as of the end of 2025. Over 130 newspapers alone closed shop in 2025.
My usual response to those who ask why local newspapers matter is this: It is the most truthful and thorough way to get the news of what your town and its government are up to on any given week. Nowadays, social media like Facebook and Twitter cannot be fully trusted to give you the complete story, and most of what people post can be described as hearsay, gossip, and even outright lies at times. What they value is outrage, discourse, and cheap clicks rather than the truth, which is what I believe ultimately should matter in today’s society, even if that truth may be tough to swallow and challenge previously held beliefs.
I also believe that local newspapers are the last bastion of American democracy, especially in the divisive times we live in today. And I don’t mean the big, national newspapers that are owned by people who have never worked in a newsroom in their lives. I’m talking about ones that care about their local community, care about the people in the community, and want to see it succeed while acknowledging its flaws, shortcomings, and worries.
We are the only print newspaper outlet to be at the city and county meetings, the local township meetings, and some of the school board meetings, letting you know everything that goes on as best we can. While we cannot be at everything going on, we do our best to make sure that we cover the news that is impactful and relevant for the community and its future. Do you want to know which roads are getting paved next? We’ve got that. Do you want to know what tax money was spent on at the local city commission meeting? We’ve got that. Do you want to know about the next big festival coming to town? We’ve got that too.
What you won’t find, however, is rumors or gossip like you’d find on Facebook. There’s a lot that’s being said about social media being assignment editors for many national and local journalists nowadays. While social media can be helpful at times with some things as a local journalist, like I said a bit ago social media is not the end-all, be-all to be fully informed about the inner workings of the community. That comes from publications like ours.”
I couldn’t have said it better. Kudos to Robert for a helluva speech, and much thanks to those that consider their weekly newspaper a must read.
