Rural Iowa newspapers are closing shop, but not without a fight
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Newspapers owned by small, independent groups are shuttering at an alarming pace compared with those owned by large investment companies, according to a new report from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.
Why it matters: Independent outlets are the primary news source and accountability holders for much of rural Iowa — sharing everything from city council scuffles to parade routes.
- But these areas are at the greatest risk of losing their outlets.
Zoom in: Since July 2024, Iowa has lost three independent newspapers in the northwest — Lyon County News, Schaller Herald and The Aurelia Star.
State of play: Rural news outlets face many of the same struggles as the communities they cover, says Becky Vonnahme, executive director of the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation, a nonprofit that supports community journalism.
- When owners retire, few people want to move to rural Iowa to take over a struggling business, Vonnahme says.
- Many newsrooms need to update their digital infrastructure and are still relying on costly print subscription models, she says.
- Ad revenue is shrinking, especially as businesses choose to buy cheaper sponsored social media posts.
What they're saying: "When you lose a new source in a small town, no one else is coming in to cover that town," Vonnahme says. "The Des Moines Register, the Omaha World-Herald, they're not going to send reporters to a small town in western Iowa because their staff is so small to begin with."
Still, even with the hardships, Iowa newspapers have shown ingenuity that other communities can replicate, says Tony Baranowski, state policy director for America's Newspapers and a former Iowa journalist.
- The nonprofit Western Iowa Journalism Foundation is giving funds for local newsrooms to become sustainable, including newsrooms' digital transitions and reporting jobs, Vonnahme says.
- An NPR story featuring Pulitzer Prize winner Art Cullen of the Storm Lake Times a California billionaire to donate to the foundation, helping Cullen's paper and others stay alive.
Plus: The University of Iowa's independent student newspaper, the Daily Iowan, bought two community weekly papers last year, giving students more hands-on learning experience.
- In Indianola, local couple Amy Duncan and Mark Davitt, both longtime journalists, purchased the Record-Herald from Gannett and now run it independently alongside their digital outlet.
Reality check: The number of digital-only local news websites has risen significantly over the past few years, but the vast majority are concentrated in urban areas.
- "They're not focused on the local school board and the local city council. That's what local newspapers are there for," says Baranowski.
The big picture: More than one-third (38%) of the 8,891 U.S. newspapers that existed 20 years ago have shuttered.
- The erosion of small, independent newspapers means that the majority of remaining papers in the U.S. will be even more heavily concentrated among hedge funds and private equity-backed groups that tend to be less invested in local communities.