More study and a couple of cups of coffee made it all clear

There are some key things to look for when researching non-profits.  Who are their donors, who they support, and what key “issues” do they communicate?  When the blatant bias is visible in statements on “Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion,” you need to look no further.  You are dealing with far-left ideologues traveling under the cover of a non-profit.

The list of foundations working on the effort is, at best, partial.  In our non-profit world, non-profits receive and make grants to other non-profits.  The paper trail is long and complicated and beyond the scope of this article.  But even a cursory review of their websites is often revealing.

The Math Does Not Work

My first test was a little math, which these organizations could not or cared not to do.  They had to reference the 2,000 lost newspapers as a problem that spanned fifteen years to make their numbers seem relevant.  A little math tells us that this is less than three newspapers per state per year over that period.  The death rate for any business sector may be more significant, and the newspaper death rate seems small to me, given the number of cities in each state and the shifts in news delivery. 

The Internet of 2008 was a very different communication tool than the Internet of 2023.  It has displaced and reconfigured many industries without any concern.  It is also likely that their numbers ignore efficiencies where two or more papers join forces to cover multiple counties.  This is part of capitalism and efficiency, nothing more.  More grocery stores and gas stations are going in and out of business every year in each state, and there is no food or transportation crisis.

One of the assumptions of organizations from bigger cities is that we, “The Great Unwashed Masses,” would see things their way if we were just better informed.  Looking at the list of headquarters cities, they are all in decline, crime-ridden, and largely very liberal.  These cities are not where you want to be.  They are losing their population, and for a good reason.  Rural America sharply contrasts with metropolitan areas, having more stable families, much lower crime, higher religious affiliation, and conservative values.  The decline in the population of major cities could shift power and votes to rural areas, which is the real issue.

Shifting News Delivery

Many more small-town newspapers are going away in print form.  It is also possible that many prominent large city newspapers are traveling that same path.  If this happens, it will be an issue of relevance, not some void in understanding liberal concepts.  If newspapers disappear, there will be no void in the news cycle, just a different way to aggregate and deliver information.  By several sources the percentage of Americans who now get their daily news in printed form is as low as 7%.

The Internet has become the biggest disruptor of newspapers, and newspapers should be fearful.  Location becomes irrelevant for state, national, and international news.  In rural America, we would not expect to pick up our papers and read engaging stories on global events.  Our local paper has a different purpose; no one outside the area can fill that void.  It is delivered in paper and electronic form today, but the paper version could go away with no real issue.

To illustrate this, I analyzed the focus of the pages in our most recent weekly paper, and this is what I found.  The paper typically is from twenty to twenty-four pages, and the weekly format fits the community.  The topics span local news, sports, classified ads, legal notices, seasonal and religious issues, and events with veterans and other community leaders.

If we want national and international news, we do what everyone else in America does: go to a streaming service or the internet.  This is the same path and challenge of all newspapers.  Printed newspapers are mostly suited for opinions, legal notices, and archival information.  The days of reporters, newsrooms, and honest news investigation are over.  A newspaper published daily or weekly archives the news, not reports it.

Small Town Technology

Our local paper has about five staff, descent electronic delivery, a website, electronic composition capabilities, and modern presses.  It is small, efficient, and personable, and the employees are a part of the community.  The employees know the residents, the organizations, the schoolteachers, and the politicians.  They are representative of people drawn to this type of work in this environment.  They are part of the fabric of our town, just as their counterparts in rural areas are across the nation.

The News Gap

What our local paper fails to cover in any real detail is violent crime; there is none.  We have drug-related issues, as do all cities and towns, but they are minor in comparison to major cities.  There are speeders, the occasional drunks, and, of course, teens getting into trouble.  Often, citizens know or know of people involved in crimes, and there is an associated shame that is a valuable method of behavioral control missing in large cities.  Homelessness is not in the headlines because it is not an issue here.  Our last murder was two years ago.

The Real Agenda

If you feel inclined to protest something, get into the car, and drive to a major city, rural America is fine without you.  Someone in a major city is always protesting something rather than doing something about it.  Their ineptitude always makes good headlines in the paper, and you will fit in.

The real agenda of the “Press Forward” group is retaining control of the voting power of citizens as they abandon liberal-run big cities for a better life in rural areas.  When we see this group, we need to know them for who they are and politely but firmly ask them to go home.  Rural America does not need the problems of our major cities visited on it. 

All is Fine Here

We, “The Great Unwashed Masses,” “the Hoi-Polloi,” and the “Adorable Deplorables,” are just fine out here in “Fly Over” land.  Press Forward and other programs from liberal non-profits can work on their own issues first, or maybe we can come to major cities and fix them.