>> ERIC: IT'S NO SECRET THAT SOME LOCAL DAILY NEWSPAPERS AROUND THE STATE HAVE FACED CHALLENGES.
THIS MONTH, THE LAST FULL-TIME REPORTER FOR THE "ST.
CLOUD TIMES" LEFT THE PAPER.
BESIDES SHEDDING STAFF, AREA NEWS WATCHERS SAY OVERALL LOCAL COVERAGE HAS DIMINISHED.
REPORTER KAOMI LEE WENT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW THE LANDSCAPE IS CHANGING.
>> NEWSPAPERS TRADITIONALLY PRINT THE NEWS.
IN St.
CLOUD, ITS NEWSPAPER, THE St.
CLOUD TIMES HAS BECOME THE NEWS.
THIS MONTH, THE PAPER LOST ITS LAST LOCAL FULL-TIME REPORTER.
>> IS A FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION.
AND, SO, THERE WAS A LOT OF PRESSURE FOR THEM AT DIFFERENT PERIODS IN THE AST TEN YEARS TO DOWNSIZE.
>> JOURNALIST NORA HERTEL WORKED FOR THE St.
CLOUD TIMES FOR FOUR YEARS UNTIL 2021.
>> MY OFFICIAL TITLE WAS PUBLIC ISSUES INVESTIGATOR.
>> OVER THE YEARS, SHE SAYS THE NEWSPAPER CHIPPED AWAY AT A 20-PERSON-STRONG LOCAL NEWSROOM.
WHEN SHE LEFT, THERE WERE ONLY SEVEN REPORTERS.
>> HOW CONCERNED IS THE COMMUNITY ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE TIMES GHOAT >> SO -- AT THE "TIMES"?
>> SO, VERY CONCERNED.
PEOPLE TALK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME.
>> I THINK IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BE INVOLVED IN POLITICAL CORRUPTION.
THERE'S LITERALLY PROBABLY NO ONE WATCHING AT ALL.
>> DALE IS CHAIR OF THE MASS COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT AT St.
CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY.
GREATER St.
CLOUD IS HOME TO A HANDFUL OF COMMUNITIES, WITH ABOUT 200,000 RESIDENTS.
HE SAYS WHEN LOCAL JOURNALISM DRIES UP -- >> IT'S NOT GOOD.
STUDIES SHOW THAT IT'S GET - MORE POLARIZATION.
THERE'S MORE DISINFORMATION.
PEOPLE HAVE LESS ENGAGEMENT IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
>> INSTEAD, HE AYS THE PAPER SEEMS TO BE RELYING ON REGIONAL COLUMNISTS AND CURATED NATIONAL NEWS.
AS A CONSUMER, HE SAYS HE DOESN'T LIKE IT.
>> WE JUST HAD AN ELECTION.
IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT THE CANDIDATES.
I JUST FELT LIKE IT WASN'T HELPFUL AT ALL.
AND I COULD SEE WHY SOMEONE WOULDN'T VOTE BECAUSE OF THAT.
BECAUSE YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE CANDIDATES.
>> IN A STATEMENT, A SPOKESPERSON SAID, THE St.
CLOUD TIMES HAS DEEP ROOTS IN CENTRAL MINNESOTA, AND WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO PROVIDING RESOURCES TO OUR NEWSROOM BY ACTIVELY RECRUITING FOR EDITORIAL POSITIONS AND RELYING ON OUR U.S.A. TODAY NETWORK TO ENSURE CONTINUED COVERAGE.
Z.OCKER AYS, IT'S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THE CONSOLIDATION OF NEWS MEDIA IS CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE.
>> IN THIS POINT OF TIME, RIGHT NOW, IN St.
CLOUD, MINNESOTA, WE ARE IN A NEWS VOID.
YOU COULD LIVE HERE AND REALLY YOU KNOW A LOT OF WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT IS HAPPENING, BUT YOU DON'T KNOW WHY IT'S HAPPENING, OR HOW IT COULD BE DIFFERENT.
THAT'S WHAT'S MISSING.
>> GOOD AFTERNOON.
I'M ALEX AY COULD YOU SKI.
>> RADIO IS ONE OF THE COMPETITORS TRYING TO FILL THE VOID.
WITH FIVE REPORTERS, IT NOW HAS THE LARGEST PROFESSIONAL NEWSROOM IN St.
CLOUD.
>> WE'RE OBVIOUSLY A RADIO STATION.
FIRST AND FOREMOST.
BUT WE ARE A MULTIMEDIA COMPANY.
>> JIM MAURICE IS THE NEWS DIRECTOR.
WITH NO LOCAL TV STATION, AND A GUTTED LOCAL PAPER, HE SAYS MORE PEOPLE HAVE TURNED TO WJON FOR THEIR PRIMARY NEWS SOURCE.
AND HE SAYS THAT'S CREATED NEW OPPORTUNITIES.
>> WE ARE INTENTIONAL WITH THAT, FOR SURE.
OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE'VE ADDED OBITUARIES TO UR WEBSITE AS WELL, WE DON'T PUT THEM ON THE RADIO, BUT WE PUT THEM ON OUR WEBSITE.
>> THEY'RE NOT ALONE.
THIS MONTH, FARGO-BASED FORUM COMMUNICATIONS ALSO LAUNCHED A DIGITAL NEWS SITE, St.
CLOUD LIVE.
>> WHILE SOME ARE PULLING BACK IN THE MEDIA SPACE, WE ARE ALL IN ON COMMUNITY JOURNALISM.
SO, WE ARE NOT HOLDING BACK.
>> ONE OF THE REASONS IS FORUM'S HISTORY.
IT'S A FIFTH-GENERATION FAMILY-RUN COMPANY.
HAS DOZENS OF NEWS BRANDS IN 22 COMMUNITIES ACROSS FOUR STATES.
>> WHY NOT JUST BY THE "TIMES"?
>> WELL, A LOT F PEOPLE HAVE ASKED THAT QUESTION.
>> ONE REASON IS LESS BAGGAGE.
SHE SAYS A DIGITAL SITE CAN SCALE UP QUICKLY AND IT'S WHERE PEOPLE ARE.
TWO LOCAL REPORTERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN HIRED WITH PLANS FOR TWO MORE BY SUMMER.
AND THEY'LL LEAN ON ASSETS ALREADY IN THE REGION.
>> YOU KNOW, YES, WE'RE COVERING St.
CLOUD, BUT WE HAVE A REPORTER IN St. PAUL, WE HAVE REPORTERS IN SEVERAL COMMUNITIES THAT ARE WITHIN AN HOUR DISTANCE, WILLMAR, ALEXANDRIA, BRAINERD.
>> COMMUNITY FREE WEEKLY'S COVERING SARTELL, WAITE PARK AND OTHERS, ALSO SERVE A ROLE.
BUT MANY SAY THERE'S STILL A LOT NOT COVERED.
FORMER St.
CLOUD TIMES REPORTER NORA HERTEL HAS STARTED HER OWN NONPROFIT NEWSLETTER AND NEWS SITE.
>> YOU KNOW, WHEN THE REPORTERS THAT ARE THERE ARE SPREAD SO THIN THEY DON'T HAVE A CHANCE TO GO REALLY DEEP.
>> HERTEL IS FOCUSING ON STORIES ABOUT COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS.
SHE SAYS THERE'S ALSO A DEEP HUNGER FOR STORIES ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND BUSINESS INNOVATION.
AS FOR HER FORMER EMPLOYER -- >> IN THE -- AND THE NEWSPAPER WILL PROBABLY BE AROUND AS LONG AS THERE ARE BABY BOOMERS PAYING FOR IT, BUT I JUST DON'T THINK THE DAILY PAPER