Published Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Small papers don’t mean small idea
BY JOHNNY LEWIS
ASNE Reporter
Michael J. Jacobs offered his advice Tuesday on what it takes to run a successful small newspaper. Mr. Jacobs’ newspaper, the Grand Forks Herald, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 in Public Service for its coverage of the devastating floods that ravaged the North Dakota city.
Mr. Jacobs said a successful small newspaper must have a passion for the community and for making the most of the available resources.
“We had a flood, and we had fires – but no telephones, no computers, no press,” Mr. Jacobs said. “But we had resources.”
The Grand Forks Herald newsroom’s ability to go to press daily, in spite of the chaos of the flood, Mr. Jacobs said, highlights the importance of utilizing resources. This is especially true, he said, for newspaper editors facing tough economic times.
“Relatively speaking, the economic downturn is harder to weather than the flood,” Mr. Jacobs said. “Having to take apart the paper you built is hard.”
Last year, the Herald laid off three employees right before Christmas and left three more positions unfilled, reducing its staff positions by 10 percent after it was asked to increase its profit margins. It also reduced its comics section by a third.
The readers noticed the changes, and Mr. Jacobs personally answered more than 500 complaints, losing only 23 subscribers. The paper also restored some of it changes, even to the comics section. “Rex Roper is back,” he said.
Mr. Jacobs said the Pulitzer enabled his paper to put North Dakota in a positive light – something that gave him a “pure and recurring joy.” He added, “You have to know your community; you have to love your community.”
Mr. Jacobs said he now has assumed the somewhat burdensome task of sending a thank-you note whenever a subscription is renewed.
“An editor at a small paper has got to be hands-on,” he said.
As it downsized, the Herald was forced to refocus on its core, he said, the service of providing news for the community. “You have to let them know you’re going to produce the best paper with the staff you have.”
Mr. Jacobs said that in recent years, his job has become less focused on content and more focused on the business side.
“I’m not resentful of the burdens of the office,” he said. “I’d like more time to devote to content, but a big part of my job is to be an enabler.”
Eighty-five percent of newspapers have circulations of less than 50,000. Part of his role, he said, is to maintain the right perspective about his job and the role of his paper.
“It seems when people speak about small newspapers there’s just a bit of patronage in their voice, as though they aren’t real newspapers,” Mr. Jacobs said. “But what they do for their community is vital.”
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