LAWRENCE — The United States has lost more than 3,000 newspapers in the last 20 years. In most cases, those outlets are simply gone.
A new book co-written by a University of Kansas professor of journalism examines what happens when universities step in to serve news deserts and what it means when “universities own the news,” according to the authors.
“News Desert U” by Teri Finneman, professor of journalism at KU, and Pamela Walck of Duquesne University details six case studies of universities that started publications to provide service to communities that no longer had their own newspaper.
There are many partnerships across the country in which journalism students provide news coverage of a given community to an existing company that oversees operations of the outlet. Those detailed in “News Desert U” are different.
“There is a group of faculty across the country seeing this problem of a need for more local news and knowing something must be done. Action must be taken,” Finneman said. “These faculty want to put their research and knowledge to use.”
As a result, a handful of them either started local news outlets themselves or helped save newspapers from closing. They now collaborate with students to keep local news alive.
The book, published by Bloomsbury, details six such operations in Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nevada and Ohio. All six were unique in their formation, operation and structure, but all have lessons they can provide for the pros and cons of a university-operated news outlet.
Among the positives, the authors point out that journalism faculty have industry experience and knowledge as well as experience researching journalism and academic insight they can lend to the operations. Universities also have a renewable supply of students to provide coverage as well as multimedia equipment and often physical space for staff to meet, all of which allows them to provide operations at a fraction of the cost.
Significant challenges remain, however, and the authors point out that in cases where working for the outlet is part of a one-semester class, turnover presents difficulty in maintaining consistency or continuity in coverage. Further, universities often do not recognize the amount of time and work required of a faculty member to serve as a publisher and all the attendant roles, including generating revenue and serving as a community liaison, the authors wrote.
Each chapter details the unique work of university partnerships to address news deserts. In Iowa, the partnership saved two existing newspapers. In Kansas, students produce “Good Morning Indian Country,” a broadcast program to serve Indigenous communities. In Ohio, the academic news partnership ultimately was unable to continue.
In the conclusion of “News Desert U,” Finneman, who serves as publisher of the Eudora Times , another Kansas project, and co-author Walck argue there are many benefits a university community news partnership can provide. Furthermore, there are lessons that existing partnerships can provide, namely that universities would do well to support faculty members who take on the role. The book not only provides lessons learned but also questions a university should ask itself before taking on such an arrangement.
Finneman and Walck will host a “News Desert U” virtual conference Sept. 14 with faculty featured in the book discussing the structure of their publications, finances, student and community impact, and related topics. Registration is available online.