Last month, some Gannett journalists staged an unsuccessful strike to protest the reupping of CEO Mike Reed, under whose leadership Gannett’s papers nationwide have continued their financial and journalistic decline. Dana Hess samples South Dakota’s three Gannett papers from the week of that strike to document the sorry state to which Gannett has reduced East River papers:
That week, June 5-11, showed exactly no local news stories in the Aberdeen American News. None. There were a few front-page stories written by the Argus Leader, and all the “local” sports coverage came from stories written by the Watertown Public Opinion’s lone sports reporter, who, by the looks of his many contributions, may be the hardest working reporter in South Dakota journalism.
The Public Opinion was hardly better, with one local front-page story that week that looked to have been written by a freelancer. At least it has robust sports coverage.
Part of the reaction to smaller newspaper staffs has been the growth of nonprofit newsrooms. The week in question, all three Gannett newspapers made use of multiple stories by South Dakota News Watch and South Dakota Searchlight, both of which allow free republication of their stories.
The Argus Leader’s newsroom has been reduced in size, but it’s still active, with local stories on the front page every day that week. It had local sports coverage, but often stories appeared in the paper days after the event had taken place [links added; Dana Hess, “Gannett Policies Change the Face of Journalism in South Dakota,” South Dakota Searchlight, 2023.07.05].
The two free news services Hess cites appear to be cranking out more South Dakota journalism than the corporate papers. Add in the subscription-based Dakota Scout, and the new/alt-press in South Dakota fields a corps of on-the-ground reporters at least as experienced and reliable as the folks Gannett has pounding the prairie for news. Of course, the new/alt-press isn’t doing sports scores….
Sports are important, Mr. H. I’m sure if you think back to your high school football days you’ll recall the glory of your victories on the field. People like to read about those.
But the Sioux Falls newspaper is dead. Mr. Ellis killed it, first from the inside and now he stands over it with a bloody knife, gloating.
Thank goodness the Rapid City Journal still thrives.
I’ve been impressed with South Dakota Searchlight and their web page. SD News Watch always has good reporting too.
As for sports, perhaps coverage unique to our state would be nice. Just scores/results. No reporting that would make them seem more important than they are. If someone is into national/international sports, then they wouldn’t need a local source for those.
grudznick
The Rapid City Journal still thives?
Yeah, for a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday delivery at $28 per month, ie, $1456 per year.
https://subscriberservices.lee.net/subscriberservices/Content/paymentpagesingle.aspx?Domain=rapidcityjournal.com&SubscriberLevel=DOP&Auth=Y
With the advent of the internet, and as of late, more Americans getting more involved in their communities, independent journalism is becoming more popular, as more people branch out and explore their awesome writing techniques. “Free Speech” is the one economical business industries that is highly not regulated by government, the constitution gives to All Americans the right to freely write, with the goal of educating, informing, and presenting to the people what their government is doing or not doing, by reporting, by creating dialogues, by creating chronicles of what is going on their communities, as compared to the rest of the ‘state’, as compared to the country. We should be promoting more individualism in journalism today, it does not require an college degree to publish your own stories, dialogues, informative reports, etc. A citizens #1 job is to become engaged in their community, their governing process, by requesting public documents, records, and information, with the goal of auditing, reviewing, and collecting data of their government – to explain, inform, and educate the people on what is happening in their communities let alone government. It is up to the ‘reader’ to take from it, what they read, further their research, and expand the scope of what others have written, and published. That is the beauty of ‘free speech’ as protected by the 1st Amendment, and upheld by Article 6, Section 5 of the South Dakota Constitution…
” Every person may freely speak, write and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right. In all trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, when published with good motives and for justifiable ends, shall be a sufficient defense. The jury shall have the right to determine the fact and the law under the direction of the court.”
1) Speak and Write on any subject you wish to write on;
2) Publish your most important collection of stories, narratives, dialogues, opinions;
3) Allow Others to counter your stories, narratives, dialogues, opinions by publishing their own versions;
4) Where you have two competing published reports, you allow the “Jury” to decide fact from fiction, etc
5) If you have to, stand on your rights, defend your version of the story in a court of law, forcing the other side of the story to defend their position; you present you side of story, vs the other side of story, the facts, are better determined where people have two competing sides.
As long as your side of the story does not harm another person by means of Rob, Rape, Murder, or Prosperity – You are a Free Person able to stand behind your stories, your narrative, and your opinions…
On returning to SD after my sojourn to the left coast for educational a professional development purposes, I was struck by the cultural parallel between small town HS sports and the Lakota tradition of sending young braves off to “count coup” on their neighboring rivals. I still view small SD sports through that lens. War without damage.
the constitution gives to All Americans the right to freely write, with the goal of educating, informing, and presenting to the people what their government is doing or not doing, by reporting, by creating dialogues, by creating chronicles of what is going on their communities, as compared to the rest of the ‘state’, as compared to the country.
Or, as in the case of most magats, they just make conspiracy theories up.and pass them along as alternate facts.
So you say all I talk is conspiracy, why don’t you read some of my writings @ http://www.siouxfallscommunitychronicle.com and get back at me on a report…I report facts, not conspiracies.
Mr. Z, you are the breath of Big Sioux River air in July this blog misses.
Persecution Complex much?
What I miss with not having a strong local daily newspaper is the lack of information on community events and the promotion of those local events. This really hurts our communities, small and large. The local daily newspaper brought together and provided early info on events and then more details as events got closer. Today it seems we learn about events maybe a day in advance and by then we have other plans because we do not think they is anything going on locally.
Mr. Grudznick:
I would be interested in your definition of “thrives”. The Journal” is a joke! Reporting of the “action “ of the Legislature is most times late by at least one day, the “editorials” seem to be misplaced and might be placed on the page for comics, the paper is not printed every day, the majority of the publication is fund raising advertising, sports “reporting” is a joke and when then there is any local sporting pictures and wording of local sporting events it is normally late due to the fact that that publication is printed in Indiana and deadlines are so early that coverage prevents same day results. National sporting results which comes from other sources sometimes are provided if the Journal can get them “off the wire” early enough to make deadlines; however, games played west of the Mississippi River have no chance of making publication deadlines.
It is my understanding that that subscriptions, both electronic and home delivery are declining: why you might ask, heed the foregoing.
Please don’t try to defend this “post card” delivery of some information to readers. It appears that that Journal owners are purposely attempting to destroy the Journal due to lack of subscribers and lack of profits. As you are aware, where there is no profit, there will be no service.
I have learned more from Corey’s website and news than I have from the Argus Leader in years. I may not agree with most democrats, but differences of opinions are fine in my book. You may not agree with my articles on my website, however, together, they formulate the greater opinion of the “State” when you culminate all the stories you read from all these media sources. Everyone writes from a different perspective. Just try to be honest with yourself, your opinions, your research, and in the long run, everyone will eventually come together
Republicans hate the press and love news deserts.
In my home state Pierre was made the capital of South Dakota to be a media desert by design. There is an exodus of journalists leaving the profession for public relations as the media lurch to drive the message to the extreme right. Bill Janklow’s idea of public broadcasting can’t cover Pierre effectively because its funding is reliant on the South Dakota Republican Party, the Associated Press can’t do it because they’ve been neutered so has Gannett’s Sioux Falls Argus Leader. South Dakota’s teevee stations are bound to Republican advertisers and nobody reads college publications.
In 2015 the Center for Public Integrity even gave the state an ‘F’ for its culture of corruption and it just keeps getting worse. I quit following the South Dakota Newspaper Association on twitter because its feed reads like a bulletin from the South Dakota Republican Party. The Pierre Capital Journal is a joke so are the radio stations based in the capital city.
So it came as no surprise when South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem’s communications director, Ian Fury admitted on twitter that there is a reporter blacklist. Similar malice blindsided a reporter in New Mexico denied entrance to a Republican gubernatorial campaign event for Mark Ronchetti.
Softball interviews where nobody gets Mrs. Noem’s or Mr. Ronchetti’s goats are par for the Republican course but real debates with real opponents are far better displays of any candidate’s depth.
My blog has argued that the Gannett Company should have bought Lee Enterprises which owns the Rapid City Journal and 45 other daily newspapers. It was my rant then that Lee Newspapers of Montana would survive as part of a Bismarck Tribune, Rapid City Journal, Casper Star-Trib marriage and not become part of a Gannett takeover.
The Rapid City Journal perpetuates hatred by allowing outrageous racist comments in the feedback section under articles published there and at its Faceberg page and censors journalists like Jim Kent. Veteran reporters and spouses Mary Garrigan and Kevin Woster fled the Journal in 2013 as have other talented writers.
Today, Gannett is trading at $2.29 and Lee is fetching $12.62.
Lar is righter than right. grudznick is buying breakfast tomorrow for all comers. We’ll write it off to Lee, for then it is free for us all, kinda like Biden Bucks.
And to see look back in the day Randell Beck said the blogs are just a fad.
Here’s a story papers missed…. Kudlow Warns Biden Will Only Allow ‘Plant-Based Beer’
Waited all my life for animal based beers. Maybe they will used aborted fetii with stem cells. What less can be expected of stable geniuses?