kansas readers feel loss when town’s paper closes

� - Newspaper Research Journal • Vol. 28, No. 4 • Fall 2007

In April 2005, the Humboldt Union ceased publication, leaving the 2,000 residents of rural Humboldt, Kan., without a newspaper for the first time since 18��. Typical of many weekly newspapers, the Union mirrored the community it served for so long by providing news of its people, government, education, sports, churches and social life—the “goings on” of small-town America.

According to publisher Stuart Butcher, the Union was a victim of declining circulation (800 subscribers at the end), increased costs and decreasing advertis-ing revenues, the result of a diminished retail community.1

The newspaper’s demise left community leaders with the task of getting information to the public in other ways. The Chamber of Commerce expanded its monthly newsletter to include community news. The high school newspaper continued to provide school news and sports coverage. The Iola Register, which had devoted a weekly page to Humboldt news, increased its Humboldt cover-age and began publishing legal notices for Humboldt and the school district. Nevertheless, community leaders found maintaining communication within the community difficult. The Iola Register had limited circulation in Humboldt, the Chamber of Commerce’s monthly (later semi-monthly) publication was insufficient for handling timely news, and coverage by area radio stations was limited.2

Smethers is the associate director, Bressers is an assistant professor, Harvey is an instructor and Freeland is an assistant professor. All are with the A.Q. Miller School

of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kansas State University. Willard is a doctoral student in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas, Austin.

Kansas Readers Feel LossWhen Town’s Paper Closesby Steven Smethers, Bonnie Bressers, Amber Willard, Linda Harvey and Gloria Freeland

This study reports readers’ perceptions of loss when the the newspaper in Humbolt, Kan., ceased publication after 129 years. Readers did not find that local media alternatives filled the void left by the newspaper’s demise.

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Smethers, Bressers, Willard, Harvey and Freeland: Kansas Readers Feel Loss - �

The Humboldt situation raises several questions about the importance of a community newspaper and how readers adjust to losing it. The newspaper-community connection has been a traditional area of focus for media scholars,3 which Stricklin labels “bridge building,” the concept that these publications are community institutions that bear equal importance to other hometown icons “such as schools, churches, government and health care and the like.”4 Generally, research indicates a symbiotic relationship between citizens’ sense of community and local media use. That is, the greater the bond individuals have with their community and the longer people have lived in a commu-nity,5 the greater their reliance on––and their tendency to subscribe to––local newspapers.� On the other hand, using local communication venues may help strengthen individual community ties and lead to a greater sense of community identification and involvement.� In their uses and gratifications work, Blumler and Katz theorized that local media use contributes to individual surveillance needs in helping residents learn about community events, while shaping their attitudes, beliefs and values.8

The communication functions that media provide in maintaining the eco-nomic and social order would seem to be sorely missed if a community’s major media outlet ceases operation. Unlike larger cities with myriad communication venues, when a community loses its sole publication, the resulting communica-tion disconnect would seem to greatly disrupt an area’s social stability.

Blumler and Katz further suggest that media users would feel a personal sense of loss when a local medium ceases. Their needs for surveillance of com-munity affairs and their sense of personal identity in their community would suffer, as would their social utility (the ability to discuss local information with others) and their diversionary activities that center around local media use.9 Such concepts greatly affect how people exist in their community, further establishing the idea that media loss would create a sense of disconnection from one’s locale. Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur use media dependency theory to argue that local media use helps citizens better understand local agendas, making a case that media cessation would create dissonance when citizens cannot receive community information used in part to guide their daily lives, not to mention the sense of loss users would feel when media consumption habits are disrupted.10

Studies about the demise of local media outlets and the sense of loss expe-rienced by consumers are not plentiful. Berelson studied the loss felt by readers during a 1�-day newspaper delivery strike in New York in 1945. Berelson found that several concepts related to newspaper dependency emerged. The study revealed that readers missed: editorials and opinion columns (as much as they missed front page news); calendars, recipes, forecasts and other tools for daily living; the routine of reading the newspaper for relaxation; using information from news stories to help readers appear more informed at social gatherings; and the social surveillance provided by news about local people and society at large through feature stories and gossip and advice columns. Moreover, Berelson

8 - Newspaper Research Journal • Vol. 28, No. 4 • Fall 2007

found a psychological loss of security among some newspaper readers, as the disruption of habitual reading greatly altered their lifestyles.11

Bentley replicated Berelson’s study by interviewing subscribers who expe-rienced sporadic non-delivery of a rural daily newspaper in Oregon. Bentley conducted in-depth interviews with 35 subscribers to ascertain why they missed their newspaper. While the sense of loss was multi-faceted, two recurring rea-sons were the disruption of the daily reading habit and the surveillance of local news and the perceived “gossip” provided by the newspaper.12

Though insightful, Berelson and Bentley focused on readers’ reactions to temporary newspaper cessation. The question remains whether the individual and community impact is the same when a newspaper permanently ceases. Losing an institution such as a newspaper would seemingly evoke more confusion and emotion and, perhaps, cast doubts about the community’s future.

Such inferences can be drawn from a case study in rural Almena, Kan., where the Almena Plaindealer ceased publication in 1991 after 102 years of service. Oukrop’s survey of newspaper subscribers and high school students in the town of 400 residents indicated that residents most missed obituaries, letters to the editor, local news, local editorials, the calendar, wedding announcements and school news. Additionally, Oukrop found that former Plaindealer readers felt that a newspaper was important to a community and that attempts by other area media failed to provide adequate coverage.13 Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Plaindealer’s closure caused confusion about local event schedules and cast doubt about the community’s future in the eyes of its citizens. Volunteers, concerned about the perceived civic erosion, began publishing a semi-monthly newspaper, the Prairie Dog Press, in 1993. It continues today.14

The Almena project implies that losing a local newspaper greatly affects readers’ perceptions about their communities, while uses and gratifications and media dependency theories would suggest that readers would feel a personal sense of loss when their local newspaper folds. Moreover, given past studies on media use and community ties, this sense of loss is likely greater among people who are more settled in a community.15 This study seeks to measure reader perceptions of loss and augment the findings of the Almena studies and the previous research on disruption of newspaper service through a survey of former Humboldt Union readers. It is guided by four research questions:

RQ1:What were some of the emotional ties area residents had to the Humboldt

Union, and how was that sentiment affected by the length of time they sub-scribed, how often they read the newspaper and the length of time they lived in the community?

RQ2:How did readers use the Humboldt Union in their daily lives, and how was

that use affected by the length of time they subscribed, how often they read the

Smethers, Bressers, Willard, Harvey and Freeland: Kansas Readers Feel Loss - 9

newspaper and the length of time they lived in the community?

RQ3:What features formerly found in the Humboldt Union are most missed by

its former readers?

RQ4:How satisfied are former readers with the effort of other area media out-

lets to fill the void in community information resulting from the loss of the Humboldt Union, and how is that perception affected by the length of time they subscribed, how often they read the newspaper and the length of time they lived in the community?

Research DesignPast studies have found that membership in community and religious/frater-

nal organizations are positively correlated with individuals’ sense of community identification and involvement.1� Based on these assumptions and upon findings indicating a positive relationship between community identification and local newspaper readership,1� researchers concluded that members of established churches in Humboldt would provide an adequate purposive sample of local residents with strong community ties, who would perhaps be more likely to have been Humboldt Union subscribers. To ensure the best response rate and feedback, the researchers targeted church congregations.18

The study was conducted in December 2005. Five of the eight churches in the Humboldt area agreed to participate. Ministers estimated the number of surveys needed, distributed questionnaires during services (one included it in the church bulletin) and instructed parishioners on how to complete the form. Ministers were paid a small honorarium.

The questionnaire contained 85 Likert-scale items. The third research ques-tion (What features formerly in the Union are most missed?) was based on a content analysis of the newspaper in the year before it closed. The analysis revealed 21 common features, such as local government news and obituaries, and respondents were asked to rate the importance of these features and the extent to which they were missed.

ResultsFive hundred surveys were distributed to the churches and 123 completed

questionnaires were received, for a response rate of 24.� percent.19 Respondents ranged from 23 to 89 years old, with a mean of �4. The majority was female (�1.9 percent.) Of the participating group, �1.1 percent live in Humboldt and another 22.3 percent reported living in rural Humboldt. The number of years


respondents had lived in the area ranged from one to 83 years, with a mean of 3�.0�. Of the respondents, 8�.18 percent (n=10�) had subscriptions to the Union, with a mean subscription length of 24.11 years. The vast majority (94.3 percent) reported regularly reading two or more issues of the weekly newspaper each month. Results of the research questions are presented.

RQ1: What were some of the emotional ties area residents had to the Humboldt Union, and how was that sentiment affected by the length of time they subscribed, how often they read the newspaper and the length of time they lived in the community?

Participants were asked the extent to which they agreed with the state-ments:

• “I miss having a local newspaper like the Humboldt Union,”• “Having a local newspaper gave me a sense of pride in my commu-

nity,”• “A community should have a newspaper of its own,” and• “The closing of a community’s newspaper is a sign that the community

is dying.”The mean responses of each of these questions indicate the majority of

the 123 participants agreed/strongly agreed with each statement, which were cast on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The statement “A community should have a newspaper of its own” had the highest mean score of 4.78 on the five-point scale, with 78.9 percent (n=97) strongly agreeing, and 20.3 percent (n=25) agreeing. “I miss having a local newspaper like the Humboldt Union” rated second with a mean of 4.�4. Almost �0 percent of the respondents (n=85) strongly agreed, and another 2�.8 percent agreed (n=33). A majority (8�.5 percent; n=10�) also agreed/strongly agreed with the statement, “Having a local newspaper gave me a sense of pride in my community.” The mean score for that statement was 4.29 on the five-point scale of agreement levels. Finally,

Table 1Correlations Of Emotional Ties Statements

Statement Subscription Years in Frequency Length Community Read

I miss having a local newspaper like r=0.295** r=0.214* r=0.4�2**the Humboldt Union p=0.002 p =0.019 p=0.000

Having a local newspaper gave me r=0.282** r=0.190* r=0.25�**a sense of pride in my community p=0.004 p=0.038 p=0.005

A community should have a r=0.2�3** r=0.21�* r=0.3��** newspaper of its own p=0.00� p=0.01� p=0.000

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level


the statement “The closing of a community’s newspaper is a sign that the com-munity is dying,” scored a 3.3� mean, with 4�.2 percent (n=58) of respondents agreeing/strongly agreeing. Of that group, 21.1 percent (n=2�) were neutral to the statement and 30.9 percent (n=38) disagreed/strongly disagreed.

Pearson product-moment correlation (r) was used to measure the relation-ship between each statement’s responses and how long the participant had subscribed to the Union and lived in the community, and how often that person read the newspaper. Table 1 presents the findings. The statement regarding a community newspaper’s closing as a reflection that the town is dying did not yield significant correlations and was not included.

RQ2: How did readers use the Humboldt Union in their daily lives, and how was their use of the paper affected by the length of time they subscribed, how often they read it and the length of time they lived in the community?

In an effort to measure the individual sense of loss experienced by Union subscribers, respondents rated items associated with motivation variables from uses and gratifications theory.20 Participants were asked the extent to which they agreed with the statements relating to the concepts of surveillance, diversion, social utility and personal identity. To indicate uses of the Union for surveillance, two questions were asked:

• “Features in the Humboldt Union such as the community calendar, weather report, advertisements and news of upcoming events were an important tool

Table 2Correlation Coefficient Significances Of Daily Use Statements

Statement Subscription Years in Frequency Length Community Read

Humboldt Union information was r=0.220* r=0.24�** r=0.303**important scheduling tool p=0.024 p=0.00� p=0.001

Often talked to others about r=0.182 r=0.189* r=0.212* information in Humboldt Union p=0.0�1 p=0.038 p=0.019

Based many opinions on r=0.12� r=0.09� r=0.183* information from Humboldt Union p=0.194 p=0.290 p=0.043

Humboldt Union gave better r=0.203* r=0.180* r=0.214* understanding of local p=0.03� p=0.049 p=0.018government issues

Preferred reading Humboldt Union r=0.182 r=0.285** r=0.2�1**as way to spend spare time p=0.0�2 p=0.002 p=0.004

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level


in helping me organize my schedule,” and• “The Humboldt Union gave me a better understanding of local govern-

ment issues.”To measure social utility, the researchers included, “I used to talk often

with my friends/family/co-workers/neighbors about information I read in the Humboldt Union.” The questionnaire item, “I based many of my opinions about local issues from information I read in the Humboldt Union,” was used to ascertain respondents’ use of the newspaper for personal identity. And for diversionary uses, the question was, “I preferred reading the Humboldt Union rather than listening to the radio or watching television as a way to spend my spare time.”

The mean responses to each statement again show participants agreed/strongly agreed to each one, with “I used to talk often with my friends/fam-ily/co-workers/neighbors about information I read in the Humboldt Union,” receiving the highest score at 4.27 on the five-point agreement scale. Almost 90 percent (88.� percent; n=109) agreed/strongly agreed with that statement. The sentence, “The Humboldt Union gave me a better understanding of local govern-ment issues,” followed with a mean of 4.1; �8.9 percent (n=9�) were in agree-ment/strong agreement with the statement, and 1�.1 percent (n=21) were neutral. “Features in the Humboldt Union such as the community calendar, weather report, advertisements and news of upcoming events were an important tool in helping me organize my schedule,” and “I based many of my opinions about local issues from information I read in the Humboldt Union” achieved almost the same mean score—3.91 and 3.90, respectively. More than �0 percent (�2.9 percent; n=89) agreed/strongly agreed the newspaper was an important scheduling tool, and �8.3 percent (n=89) agreed/strongly agreed they based many opinions on information from the newspa-per. Fewer preferred reading the newspaper as a way to spend their spare time, with a mean score of 3.�4, and agreement levels at 5�.� percent (n=�9) for agreeing/strongly agree-ing with the statement. One-third (33.� percent; n=41) were neutral about the statement and 9.8 percent

Table 3Mean Scores of “Important” Categories

Categories M*

Local event news 4.��Local government news 4.�3Obits 4.�2Local people features 4.52Business news 4.44School news 4.43Weddings/engagements 4.31Letters to editor 4.29Births 4.2�Crime/court news 4.24Senior citizen news 4.22School sports news 4.22Church news 4.20Legal notices 4.10Social news 4.09Advertising 4.05Publisher’s column 3.90State news 3.88Legislator’s column 3.�5Weather news 3.44Movie times 3.33

*On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)


(n=12) disagreed/strongly disagreed.Each statement response was again tested for correlation with how long

participants had subscribed to the Union and lived in the community and how often they read the newspaper. [See Table 2]

Participants were asked to rate the importance of 21 features in the Union. The respondents again selected the degree to which they agreed with the statement “It was important to me that the Humboldt Union contained….” The results are listed in Table 3, and the means show participants agreed/strongly agreed that all of the categories were important to them. Other response choices included neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree.

RQ3: What features formerly found in the Humboldt Union are most missed by its former readers?

Participants were asked to rank their top five most-missed items that were regular features in the Union. Features including local government news, obituar-ies, local people features, school news and local event news all ranked in the top five of the op-tions offered. The means of each item are listed in Table 4. While the five categories represent the “most-missed” items from the Union, the percentages represent the limited response provided by participants in this study in reference to these items.

Each response was tested for correlation with how often that person read the newspaper. No significant correlation was found between how often they read the Union and any of the top five most missed items.

RQ4: How satisfied are former readers with the effort of other area media outlets to fill the void in community information resulting from the loss of the Humboldt Union, and how is that perception affected by the length of time they subscribed, how often they read the newspaper and the length of time they lived in the community?

To answer this research question, participants were asked the extent to which they agreed with the statements: “I can get information I need about upcom-

Table 4Mean Scores Of “Most Missed” Categoriesand Percent Who Selected That Categoryas His/Her “Most Missed”

Categories M % ranked #1

Local government news 3.30 44.3Obits 1.�9 5.�Local people features 1.�� .4School news 1.�1 �.4Local news events 1.54 13.9School sports news 1.22 4.9Business news 0.90 0.8Crime/court news 0.�0 --Births 0.�4 --Weddings/engage. 0.�1 0.8Church news 0.4� 0.8Senior citizen news 0.41 0.8Letters to editor 0.3� 0.8Social news 0.3� --Publisher column 0.31 --State news 0.30 --Legal notices 0.25 --Legislator’s column 0.20 --Weather news 0.18 0.8Advertising 0.1� --Movie times 0.10 --


ing events in Humboldt from other sources now that the Humboldt Union has closed;” “I can get information I need about other news in Humboldt from other sources now that the Humboldt Union has closed;” “As long as I have a televi-sion and radio, there is no need for a newspaper in Humboldt;” “I preferred reading the Humboldt Union to listening to the radio or watching television for local news;” “I preferred reading the Humboldt Union rather than listening to the radio or watching television as a way to spend my spare time;” “The Hum-boldt Union gave adequate coverage to Humboldt residents and events;” and “The newspapers in Chanute and Iola give adequate coverage to Humboldt residents and events.”

The responses to of each of these questions were based on a scale of 1, strongly disagree, to 5, strongly agree. [See Table 5] Participants felt the Union gave adequate coverage and they preferred it to radio or television for local news. Participants did not give the Chanute or Iola newspapers a vote of confi-dence in providing coverage and felt that even with radio and television news, there was a need for a community newspaper.

A majority of the respon-dents (8�.2 percent, n=10�) indicated they now receive their news from the Chanute and/or Iola newspapers. This was followed by the Chamber of Commerce newsletter (�5.� percent, n=93), family and friends (�2.4 percent, n=89), and places of worship (�5.9 percent, n=81). The research indicated that work (20.3 per-cent, n=25); school (43.9 percent, n=54); the school district’s Web site (4.9 percent, n=�); the city Web site (0 percent, n=123); and radio (20.3 percent, n=25) were all rated by the respondents at less than 50 percent as sources of information. Slightly more than 3 percent designated “other” as their news source.

Each statement’s response was again tested for correlation with how long the participants had subscribed to the Humboldt Union, lived in the community and read the newspaper. Of the more than 20 correlations tested, only the statements “…preferred reading Union to radio/TV,” “Union gave adequate coverage,”

Table 5Mean Scores of Satisfaction With Other Media

Statement M*

Union gave adequate coverageto Humboldt residents/events 4.08

Preferred reading Union toTV/radio for local news 4.0�

Preferred reading Union rather thanTV/radio in spare time 3.39

Can get information about upcomingevents from other sources 2.55

Can get information aboutother news from other sources 2.50

Chanute/Iola newspapers give adequatecoverage to Humboldt residents/events 2.3�

As long as have TV/radio,no need for newspaper in Humboldt 1.43

*On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)


and “Chanute/Iola papers gave adequate coverage” showed any significant correlation with the number of years residents lived in the community and the frequency with which they read the Union. Correlation was significant at the 0.05 level between participants who preferred reading the Humboldt Union to radio/TV as a way to spend spare time and the number of years lived in the community (r=0.284, p=0.002), and significant at the 0.01 level with the frequency with which participants read the Humboldt Union (r=0.214, p=0.019).

The remaining correlations were significant at the 0.01 level: Humboldt Union gave adequate coverage and number of years live in community (r=0.211, p=0.020); Humboldt Union gave adequate coverage and frequency at which participants read the Humboldt Union (r=0.208, p=0.021); and a significant nega-tive correlations between Chanute/Iola papers gave adequate coverage and frequency at which participants read the Humboldt Union (r=-0.189, p=0.03�). No correlations were found between any of the statements and the length of subscription.

DiscussionThe findings supported the elements projected in the uses and gratification

and media dependency theories. Participants depended on the Union as a means of surveillance in order to understand what was happening in the community. They miss the Union and feel that area news outlets are inadequate.

These results are consistent with previous findings. Jeffres, Dobos and Lee found that the more people are bonded within their community, the more they rely on the media,21 and Jeffres, Dobos and Sweeney found that local commu-nication outlets help increase community ties.22 Results here also show that the longer people had lived in the community, subscribed to the newspaper and read the newspaper, the more connection they felt to it and its place in the community. This parallels Stricklin’s assertion that newspapers are community institutions.23

Berelson determined which newspaper features were most missed, as was done here, as well as how readers used the newspaper as a scheduling tool, a way to spend spare time, and a method to learn about community issues in order to converse with others.24 Oukrop also studied residents’ “most missed” items and the adequacy of other media coverage.25 In those studies and this one, respondents reported reliance on the newspaper for each function. Bentley also reviewed readers’ dependence on their newspaper and found the sense of loss was tied to habit. These variables can be positively linked to this study’s findings.

RQ1: What were some of the emotional ties residents had to the Union, and how was that affected by the length of time they subscribed, how often they read it and their length of residency?

Participants ranked their level of agreement to four statements that measured

1� - Newspaper Research Journal • Vol. 28, No. 4 • Fall 2007

this question and, in each case, they perceived the Union to be a community institution. Almost all respondents (99.2 percent, n=122) felt a community should have a newspaper, and 95.9 percent (n=118) reported missing the Union. More than 85 percent (8�.1 percent; n=10�) agreed having a newspaper gave read-ers a sense of community pride, but they were less firm (47.2 percent agreed; n=58) in believing that a newspaper’s closure signals a dying community. This might be a reflection of residents’ inability to self-identify their community as dwindling.

Correlations between these statements were stron-gest when compared to the frequency with which re-spondents read the newspa-per—the more often they read it, the more they agreed that they missed the newspaper, the community should have a newspaper, and the news-paper provided a source of community pride. This was followed by correlations between those statements and the length of time par-ticipants had subscribed. The longer they had subscribed, the more they missed it and agreed the town should have its own newspaper and that the newspaper was a source of pride. That people who read the newspaper more often and had subscribed to it longer would feel these greater emotional ties is a reasonable assumption, and the correlations indicate support for that supposi-tion. The length of time respondents had lived in the community also showed a positive significant correlation to missing the newspaper, with respondents regarding their paper as a source of pride and believing the community should have its own newspaper, although the link was not as strong as with the other variables.

RQ2: How did readers use the Humboldt Union in their daily lives, and how was their use of the paper affected by the length of time they subscribed, how often they read it and their length of residency?

People most highly agreed with the surveillance statement that they often

Correlations between these statements were strongest when compared to the frequency with which respondents read the newspaper—the more often they read it, the more they agreed that they missed the newspaper, the community should have a newspaper and the newspaper provided a source of community pride.

Smethers, Bressers, Willard, Harvey and Freeland: Kansas Readers Feel Loss - 1�

talked to others about information in the Union—88.� percent agreed (n=109), with only 2.4 percent (n=3) disagreeing and 8.9 percent (n=11) remaining neu-tral. More than three-quarters (�8.9 percent; n=9�) agreed that the newspaper gave them a better understanding of local government issues and �2.9 percent (n=89) agreed the newspaper provided information that helped them with their schedules. Many (�8.3 percent; n=89) also agreed they based opinions on information from the Union, and more than half (5�.� percent; n=�9) agreed that reading the newspaper was a favored way of spending their spare time. The mean scores of the RQ2 statements show the majority of respondents agreed with each, making the Union an important fixture to them.

Again, these statements were compared to the participants’ frequency of readership, length of subscription, and years of residence. Significant correla-tions were found with frequency and each of the following statements:

• They often talked with others about information from the newspaper and they often based opinions on it. The newspaper gave them a better understand-ing of local government and was an important scheduling tool.

• They preferred reading the Union as a way to spend their spare time. The more often people read the newspaper, the more likely they were to agree with each statement.

Subscription length, however, did not play as significant a role in participants’ agreement with those statements. The only significant correlations came with using the Union as a scheduling tool and developing a better understanding of local government issues through its coverage. This suggests that those who had subscribed to the newspaper for a longer time were not as likely as those who read it with greater frequency to depend on it as a source of conversation with others and for creating their own opinions, as well as for spare-time reading.

The longer people had lived in the community, the more likely they were to agree that they relied on the newspaper as a scheduling tool, a source of in-formation for conversations, a way to spend their spare time and a tool to learn more about local government issues. This may be because the longer people lived in the community, the more they learned the Union was a good source in many aspects of their lives and became more important to them.

Respondents noted that while every category of information on the survey was not equally important to them, all 21 categories were important in some way. Local event news, local government news, obituaries, local people features and business news had the top mean scores, respectively, when participants answered, “It was important to me that the Humboldt Union contained.…”

Considering respondents’ agreement that they used the newspaper for scheduling, it is not surprising that local event news received the highest mean score. The correlation of participants’ frequency of readership, length of sub-scription, and years of residence were all significant with the belief the Union gave them a better understanding of local government issues. The next highest mean score, obituaries, might be tied to the respondents’ age—the mean was �4 years.


Items with the lowest mean scores––movie times, weather news, legislator’s column and state news––still rated a mean of 3.33 or more on the five-point scale. Respondents cared less about them, but still thought they were important to have.

RQ3: What features of the newspaper are most missed by its former readers?Local government news was overwhelmingly the most missed. Obituaries

followed somewhat closely, possibly reflecting the older demographic. Adver-tising had a very low “most missed” ranking, which is interesting considering the Union ceased publication partly because of declining advertising revenue.

No significant correlations, however, were found between how often the newspaper was read and any of the top five most missed categories. This may suggest that 21 items were too many choices offered.

RQ4: How satisfied are former readers with how area media fill the information void resulting from the loss of the Union, and how is that affected by the length of time they subscribed, frequency of reading and the length of residency?

A strong majority (82.9 percent, n=102) said the Union provided adequate cov-erage but disagreed/strongly disagreed that area newspapers provided adequate coverage after it closed (�0 percent, n=�5). Participants also disagreed/strongly disagreed that the newspaper was unnecessary because radio and television were present (94.3 percent, n=115). Area media are not filling the void.

Participants moderately rated statements regarding the reception of in-formation from other sources since the Union’s closure. Fifty-three percent (n=�3) indicated they disagreed/strongly disagreed they received information about upcoming events from other sources, and a similar 53.� percent (n=��) disagreed/strongly disagreed that other news could be received from those sources, confirming their perceived inadequacy

Correlations between some of these statements were strongest when com-pared to participants’ number of years in residence. The longer participants lived there, the more adequate they felt the Union was and the more apt they were to prefer it to fill spare time. These were followed by correlations between how often the Union was read and preference to fill spare time and the adequacy of area papers. The more often participants read the Union, the more they perceived it as a way to fill spare time and the more adequate the paper was. Conversely, a negative correlation between how often the Union was read and the adequacy of area newspapers supports the perception that the more participants read the Union the less adequate other papers were perceived.

Limitations and Future ResearchSurveying church-goers was a limiting factor, although this method

yielded data that met the purposive needs of this study. Including other types


of community organizations in future research might yield a wider sample of respondents with strong community ties who had been Union subscribers.2� Focus groups could also yield more specific information about readership habits and perceptions of loss.

Respondents tended to be older than the town’s average, a possible bias-ing effect associated with surveying church-goers. According to 2000 Census figures, the median age of Humboldt residents is 40.5, yet, the mean age for respondents was 64. That finding could also be a reflection of the aging popula-tion of newspaper readers, who are now an average of 53 years old.2� This study’s focus on a small Kansas town is limited in generalizability. Yet, previ-ous studies on how people use newspapers and how local publications serve as a tool for community bonding are supported here, indicating that market size and location may not be an inhibiting factor in projecting commonalities in newspaper readership and the features that make local publications impor-tant community institutions. This study suggests that area media outlets are inadequate. Declining economic conditions in rural markets will surely threaten local newspapers, forcing regional publishers to struggle with how to provide service to those localities. Future studies to determine how regional publishers can better serve rural communities would be important.

EpilogueThe Humboldt Union’s story does not end here. In the communications

vacuum that resulted when the newspaper closed, Humboldt residents learned that life without a newspaper had consequences.

Community leaders launched a campaign to locate a newspaper publisher, reasoning that the readership built by the Chamber of Commerce’s newsletter — and community demand — would be attractive.28 It worked. Stewart Braden, an editor in Yates Center, Kan., re-established the Union, and published the first edition Feb. 1, 200�. Braden, who is from a Kansas newspaper family, said:

A local weekly paper is a creature…owned by the community it serves…We are in the business of chronicling the life and times of Humboldt and its citizens. In doing so, a paper must be supported by the community it serves…By mutual support, we will all thrive.29

Notes1. Humboldt is located in Allen County in southeast Kansas and is a town of nearly 2,000

residents. The town has an excellent school system, churches are strong and the community main-tains a neat, well-manicured appearance. Humboldt has a respectable industrial base, dominated by the Monarch Cement Company, Humboldt’s largest employer, and B&W Truck Beds, which manufactures custom truck beds and gooseneck trailer hitches. But the retail community has been in a state of decay, as Humboldt’s proximity to larger cities of Iola (population �,300, eight miles north) and Chanute (9,400 residents, nine miles south) has made it difficult for most types of retail establishments in Humboldt to compete. There are two banks, a grocery store, a lumber


yard and some restaurants, but what largely remains around the town square are reminders that the city once had a much stronger retail identity, as many buildings stand vacant or are occupied by firms such as antique stores that have more of a regional customer base and are less dependent on pedestrian shoppers.

2. Terry Butts, former employee of the Humboldt Union, personal interview, 11 November, 2005; Don Copley, Humboldt Chamber of Commerce President, personal interview, 11 November, 2005; Dodie Copley, Humboldt business owner, personal interview, 11 November, 2005.

3. Morris Janowitz, The Community Press in an Urban Setting (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1952); John Cameron Sim, The Grass Roots Press: America’s Community Newspapers (Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 19�9); Keith R. Stamm, Newspaper Use and Community Ties (Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corp., 1985); Leo W. Jeffres, Jean Dobos and Jae-Won Lee, “Media Use and Community Ties,” Journalism Quarterly, �5:5�5-81 (fall 1988); Kurt Neuwirth, Charles T. Salmon and Maryl Neff, “Community Orientation and Media Use,” Journalism Quarterly, ��:31-39 (spring 1989).

4. Michael Stricklin, “Bridge Builder: The Newspaper as a Community Institution” (unpub-lished paper, 1994), p. �.

5. Gerald Stone, “Community Commitment: A Predictive Theory of Daily Newspaper Circula-tion,” Journalism Quarterly, 54: 509-514 (autumn 19��); Leo W. Jeffres, Jean Dobos and Jae-won Lee, “Media Use and Community Ties.”

�. Leo W. Jeffres, Jean Dobos and Jae-won Lee, “Media Use and Community Ties.”�. Leo W. Jeffres, Jean Dobos and Mary Jane Sweeney, “Communication and Commitment to

Community,” Communication Research, 14:�19-�43 (December, 198�).8. Jay Blumler and Elihu Katz, Eds. The Uses of Mass Communication: Current Perspectives on

Gratifications Research (Beverly Hills, California: Sage, 19�4).9. Jay Blumler and Elihu Katz, Eds. The Uses of Mass Communication: Current Perspectives on

Gratifications Research.10. Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Melvin DeFleur, “A Dependency Model of Mass Communication

Effects,” Communication Research 3:3-21 (1989).11. Bernard Berelson, “What ‘Missing the Newspaper’ Means,” in Communications Research,

ed. P.F. Lazerfield and F. Stanton (New York: Harper, 1948-49), 111-129.12. Clyde Bentley, “No Newspaper Is No Fun -- Even Five Decades Later.” Newspaper Research

Journal 22, 4:2-15 (fall 2002).13. Carol Oukrop, “An Update on Almena and the Prairie Dog Press,” Huck Boyd Center for

National Media Newsletter, 8-9 (January 1999).14. Bonnie Bressers, “Volunteer Paper: ‘We’ll Just Do It Ourselves,” American Journalism Re-

view 1�-1� (March 2000); Bonnie Bressers, “Inside the Prairie Dog Press: Kansas Volunteers Publish Community News After 102-Year Old Weekly Folds,” Grassroots Editor 14-1� (Fall 2000); Beka Robinson, producer, “The Prairie Dog Press: Community Journalism’s Struggle for Survival,” video documentary, (Spring 2005).

15. Gerald Stone, “Community Commitment;” Leo W. Jeffres, Jean Dobos and Jae-won Lee, “Media Use and Community Ties.”

1�. John Cameron Sim, The Grass Roots Press: America’s Community Newspapers; Keith R. Stamm, Newspaper Use and Community Ties; Kurt Neuwirth, Charles T. Salmon and Maryl Neff, “Community Orientation and Media Use.”

1�. Leo W. Jeffres, Jean Dobos and Jae-won Lee, “Media Use and Community Ties.”18. Locating respondents who could yield the best feedback for this study was a difficult

task. The more purposive nature of this research project ruled out conducting a general random sample of the community population, since, considering the Union had only 800 subscribers in its final days, a truly random sample would yield less response and provide little data to address the objective of this study. Actual Humboldt Union readers would obviously yield the best responses to the questions surrounding this study. However, the former publisher chose not to turn over the


newspaper’s subscription list for this project. 19. This is beyond Wimmer and Dominick’s expected one to four percent response rate for

completed mail surveys – which is similar to the method employed for this study – and within the response-rate range of 21 to �0 percent they found in a two-year analysis of studies published in three academic journals, including Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. Roger D. Wimmer and Joseph R. Dominick, Mass Media Research (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2003).

20. Jay Blumler and Elihu Katz, Eds. The Uses of Mass Communication: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research.

21. Leo W. Jeffers, Jean Dobos and Jae-won Lee, “Media Use and Community Ties.” 22. Leo W. Jeffers, Jean Dobos and Mary Jane Sweeney, “Communication and Commitment

to Community.” 23. Michael Stricklin, “Bridge Builder: The Newspaper as a Community Institution.” 24. Bernard Berelson, “What ‘Missing the Newspaper’ Means,” in Communications Research,

ed. P.F. Lazerfield and F. Stanton (New York: Harper, 1948-49), 111-129.25. Carol Oukrop, “An Update on Almena and the Prairie Dog Press,” Huck Boyd National

Center for Community Media Newsletter, 8-9 (January 1999).2�. Leo W. Jeffers, Jean Dobos and Jae-won Lee, “Media Use and Community Ties.”2�. Merrill Brown, “Abandoning the News,” Carnegie Reporter 3:2, pg. 2, (Spring 2005).28. A focus group was conducted with community leaders and townspeople on 14 July, 200�.

The assertions made here are a summary of comments from that focus group session.29. Stewart Braden, “The Humboldt Union Returns to Humboldt,” Humboldt Connection, vol.

3, no. 1�, page 1.

kansas readers feel loss when town’s paper closes

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