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Oct. 5-11 marks the 85th celebration of National Newspaper Week. Since 1940, Newspaper Association Managers, a professional organization of newspaper associations, has sponsored and supported National Newspaper Week, a week-long promotion of the newspaper industry in the United States and Canada.
The theme, or we might say, the rallying cry, of this year’s celebration is “Embracing Local Journalism for a Better Future.”
Local journalism is the heartbeat of informed communities. It brings stories to light that national outlets often overlook — stories about school board decisions, city council debates, neighborhood events, and local heroes. In a world increasingly shaped by global headlines and social media noise, reconnecting with local news is vital for civic engagement, accountability and community resilience.
Why Local Journalism Matters:
• Informed Citizens: Local reporting empowers people with the information they need to make decisions in their everyday lives — from voting to attending town hall meetings.
• Accountability: Local journalists often serve as watchdogs, uncovering corruption or negligence that directly impacts their communities.
• Community Connection: Local news fosters a sense of belonging by highlighting stories that resonate on a personal level.
• Economic Development: Thriving local media can support small businesses through advertising and partnerships, strengthening the local economy.
• Trust: According to the 2024 Trust in Media Study conducted by America’s Newspapers and Coda Ventures, local newspapers are the most trusted news source in the country. Readers rank them highest for transparency, ethical standards and connection to their communities — qualities that are critical in an environment saturated with misinformation and national polarization.
View Newspaper Group Serves Local Communities:
With our 22 locally owned community newspapers serving readers and advertisers across 14 Michigan counties, View Newspaper Group was founded and built on local journalism. Today, we deliver more than 350,000 printed newspapers every week into readers’ homes in more than 60 cities and villages and dozens of townships. In most of those communities, we are the only professional local news organization. Without our coverage of local government, schools, nonprofits, agriculture, businesses and economic development, people in many of those communities would lack the consistent, unbiased and thorough news and information that is most important to their daily lives.
Numerous studies have shown that local newspapers, in our watchdog role, hold local government officials accountable to voters and taxpayers while the absence of local newspapers has the opposite effect. (See Page 1, “Lack of local news tied to government secrecy.)
Beyond reporting news and information, the View team members serve as marketing experts, community boosters and nonprofit champions by serving on multiple boards and committees. View Newspaper Group contributes more than $180,000 annually to local nonprofits, service organizations, charitable causes and fundraisers along with providing those groups with hundreds of thousands of dollars more in free publicity. Social media, digital advertising and search engine corporations do not give back to our communities.
A Call to Action:
To build a better future, we encourage your support of local journalism through subscriptions, sharing stories and sharing your point of view in our letters to the editor pages. We encourage local businesses to commit a portion of their advertising budgets to our local and effective newspapers. We encourage local government and school officials and community leaders to subscribe to — and read! — our newspapers. Schools, libraries, and civic groups can also play a role in educating the next generation about media literacy and the importance of a free press.
Celebrate National Newspaper Week with Us
By embracing local journalism, we’re not just preserving the past — we’re shaping a more informed, connected, and empowered future. National Newspaper Week is a time to reflect on and reinforce the vital role newspapers play in informing, empowering, and uniting our communities.
Our View represents the opinion of the Daily News and View Newspaper Group.
