In response to declining revenue brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the weekly Zionsville Times-Sentinel in Indiana has been merged with its sister CNHI newspaper, The Lebanon Reporter. The Reporter will undertake coverage of both communities. more

In a periodic series called Stepping Up, highlighting moments of compassion, duty and community in uncertain times, The Seattle (Washington) Times highlighted the actions of Gina Singer, who with her daughter, have been making free masks for people along their newspaper delivery route who need a mask. more

Mary Dolan, a 30-year veteran journalist and newsroom leader with deep roots in New York's Hudson Valley, has been named executive editor of The Times Herald-Record in Middletown, as well as The Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. more

As local businesses began opening this week, The News-Enterprise in Elizabethtown offered each business a free print advertisement in the newspaper as each reopens its storefront. The advertisement can be used to announce that the business once again is open to the public, explain any new procedures that might be necessary or to communicate new hours of operation. more

Former El Dorado (Arkansas) News-Times staff writer, Caitlan Butler, has been named regional managing editor for the El Dorado News-Times, the Camden News and Magnolia Banner News. more

The Cannon Falls Beacon and the Cannon Shopper in Minnesota have been acquired by the O’Rourke Media Group, a media company that specializes in publishing local community newspapers.  The company also provides cost-effective digital marketing solutions and print/design services to local businesses. more

Tom Silvestri, retired publisher of the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch and chairman of the SNPA Foundation, has been named project director of the Relevance Project, the joint effort of newspaper trade groups to strengthen the industry’s unique role as the provider of quality journalism and the keeper of public forums for thousands of communities across the continent. more

This week, Gannett announced  that Michael McCarter, the executive editor of the Evansville Courier & Press, and Alan Achkar, executive editor of the South Bend Tribune, will partner to oversee the operations and editorial functions of most of Gannett’s media sites across the state, outside of Indianapolis. more

Effective June 1, The Valdosta (Georgia) Daily Times will begin a four-day-a-week publishing schedule, discontinuing the Thursday and Saturday printed editions. The Daily Times also will switch to mail delivery. more

Beginning next week, the Clinton (Iowa) Herald will publish printed editions three days a week – on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The first Wednesday without a print edition will be May 13; the first Friday without will be May 15. more

Americans support directing federal money to local news organizations as part of coronavirus relief efforts, according to the results of an April 14-20 Gallup/Knight Foundation survey focused on the coronavirus situation, part of Knight Foundation’s Trust, Media and Democracy initiative. Sixty-five percent are in favor of including money to help local news organizations in coronavirus relief aid, while 34% are opposed. Eighty-seven percent of Democrats, 60% of independents and 43% of Republicans favor federal assistance to local news organizations. more

Every industry is now being disrupted. A first step is to replace the prevailing models that lead to complacency and slow deterioration of business. A first question to ask yourself: What makes us unique? A first route to the answer: Ask outside people, outside your industry, outside your usual audience and outside your generation. more

Google, Facebook and Amazon: Compete or collaborate? In a word, both. With many newspapers offering digital advertising agencies, they must partner with Big Tech since they use their platforms. But they also compete, largely from the news side, as they want to drive traffic back from search or social media platforms to their own sites. Newspapers are also competing for advertising revenue. more

Rick Armon has been named editor of The Canton (Ohio) Repository. He most recently served as editor of two other Ohio newspapers: The Daily Record in Wooster and the  Ashland Times-Gazette. more

The Tampa Bay Times has named Graham Brink as its next editor of editorials, succeeding Tim Nickens who had previously announced plans to retire at the end of May. more

Jimmy Ruff, long-time production manager of The Clanton (Alabama) Advertiser, has retired. His last day was April 30. more

H. Brandt "Brandy" Ayers, the small-town publisher who turned The Anniston Star into a voice for integration in the 1960s, died Sunday, May 3, friends and family members say. He was 85.  more

WEHCO Media, Inc. has been approved for $12.3 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration. more

The Daily Clintonian, which ceased publication on April 10, 2020, has been purchased with the intent to restart the newspaper, according to John Thomas Cribb of Cribb, Greene & Cope who represented the Carey family in the sale to Don L. Hurd, president of Hoosier Media Group, Hometown Media and Heartland Media Group.  more

Congratulations to the 2020 Pulitzer Prize winners!  We are so proud to see so many of our members on this list. more