By Evelyn Megery

FROM NORTHERNREVIEW.ORG __Take a moment, close your eyes, and imagine what a small-town newspaper office looks like. 

What did you see?

Perhaps you envisioned a tiny, brick office space tucked in the middle of Main Street. The rich scent of coffee wafts through the air, and the click-clack of keyboards rings in your ears. In the wooden desk beside you, a journalist flips through his ink-stained notepad as he writes an article about last weekend's bake sale.

If you imagined a newsroom along those lines, you might not be wrong. However, the romanticization of small town news is a common stereotype undermining the true work of journalism in rural communities. Pop culture tends to portray local newsrooms as sharing "the placidity, tradition, and goodness of rural or small-town Life" (1) and misrepresents the fundamental value of media outlets.

Let's be honest, though: Local newspapers appear to be obsolete in the digital age. The internet has made information available in a way it never has before. Now, a town's residents can easily access mainstream news or metropolitan media outlets with the push of a few buttons (2), thus eliminating the need for local sources.

...or so we thought.

Time has shown that while technology has evolved, the need for local discourse and access to information has remained constant. Rural journalism outlets must capitalize the "social, technological, and economic shifts" and reshape the media landscape to meet the needs of their respective communities. (3)
There are approximately 46.1 million people in the United States who live in rural areas as of 2021.(4) Those individuals deserve quality newspaper outlets that report on political, social and cultural news in the context of their region's values, needs and geography.

Sharing relevant and reliable information through journalism seems simple in theory. However, there are financial pressures, a lack of resources, and competition rural media outlets may face that can hinder their capabilities.

Let's take a closer look at three media outlets in the rural northwest Ohio region and explore why they continue to operate through the hardships.

The Ada Icon and Bluffton Icon
Paula Pyzik Scott was not a career journalist when she took ownership of the Ada Icon and Bluffton Icon in 2021. Running two newspaper outlets in neighboring rural communities was an unexpected challenge she was eager to tackle.

"This was a total surprise that I would be doing this," said Scott. "I'm in my 60s. I'm thinking about retirement. And yet, four years ago, the phone rang and somebody said, 'hey, would you like to buy the Icons?' Now, I don't know if I knew what I was getting into, but I really love it."

MORE ▶︎ Rewriting the small town narrative: Why journalism matters in rural communities