OPINION
On Wednesday morning, I had the opportunity to speak with 70 people about one of the things I am most passionate about—the value of community news.
The overarching theme I covered was the increasing existence of news deserts, which are areas that have no access to a local newspaper.
I shared information about how the media landscape is changing in the U.S., with statistics about how in 2004, there were 8,800 local newspapers, ranging from dailies to weeklies, with only 5,600 reported in 2024, according to statista.com.
It wasn't all doom and gloom, though. I was able to share how instead of the Tri-County Reporter closing this year, as it was set to do, a couple swooped in to save it and separate it back out into the Azle News and the Springtown Epigraph.
“We are overjoyed to tell readers the communities of Azle and Springtown are getting THEIR newspapers back,' was the announcement the new owners
made. I also shared some of the reasons why my family and I opted to invest into the communities on our masthead in the form of purchasing the paper. That's because we believe in the value of local news. We know it makes an impact on tying the people in the community together and helping promote issues that need attention as well as people who need help.
On that note, be sure you look at our Around Town section after you read this, please.
There's a little boy who could use our community's help named Hudson Dean.
We also wanted to keep the paper independent.
We've been in print since 1878, and I've been part of that history since late 2017.
Other than my two children and my family in general, there's not much that matters more to me than this newspaper.
We cover you because we care.
That's the value of local news.
Abigail Allen is the Editor & Publisher of the Post-Signal. She can be reached at [email protected].
