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There is no shortage of slights uttered these days about print media. It’s become accepted wisdom that print is a “dinosaur industry” that will soon join the typewriter in obsolescence. While large dailies have suffered most with the rise of the Internet and new media, print media still remains the dominant medium through which Americans remain informed. Nearly half of adults read a newspaper every day and more on Sundays. Its continued resilience, especially with weekly and monthly community newspapers ensures this traditional medium will retain its relevance and vibrancy in the years to come. First, newspaper readers tend to be loyal consumers of the publications they read and are more socially engaged than those who don’t read them. “Newspaper readers are older, more educated, and more rooted in their communities than the average American,” writes Robert Putnam in his seminal book, “Bowling Alone.” “Regular newspaper readers belong to more organizations, participate more actively in clubs and civic associations, attend local meetings more frequently, vote more regularly, volunteer more often and even visit with friends more frequently and trust their neighbors more,” he continues. When crafting a campaign, advertisers are often concerned with reaching the early adopters and trend-setters – the “Mavens” as Malcolm Gladwell calls them in “The Tipping Point.” Despite its lack of cachet, newspaper readers are indeed the Mavens in their communities that advertisers want to reach and expand exposure to their products and services. Perhaps the greatest concern marketers have about print advertising is that the medium does not explicitly target a market. Smaller newspapers, with their specific focuses on a region, neighborhood or industry, circumvent this concern by targeting a certain neighborhood and its accompanying demographic. Paul Kozak who has been publishing the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers in San Francisco for over 20 years says “As more and more options for marketing become available through various media, the local media is doing better than ever because advertisers know people look to their local outlets for news and information.” As the Richmond and Sunset have the largest concentration of homeowners in the City, Kozak’s papers attract advertisers and readers interested in the real estate in the area. With the large dailies cutting their newsrooms (the SF Chronicle cut 25 percent of its newsroom staff a year ago), community newspapers are covering the unglamorous bread-and-butter issues – crime, small businesses, schools, parks, real estate development – that fly below the radar. The city’s many glossy magazines that specialize in the aspirant lifestyles of high culture do not fill this niche either. At the end of the day, in an age where many feel alienated by the impersonal forces of globalization, the role of small, community newspapers is increasingly vital in the creation of a sense of place – that sense of belonging – that communities need. The San Francisco Neighborhood Newspaper Association (SFNNA) is an affiliation of 16 different neighborhood newspapers in the city. For more information visit www.sfnna.com or contact Andy Sywak at advertising@sfnna.com or at (415) 682-4258.
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