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Published in The Earlville Post on December 13, 2024
By Terri Dee, Illinois News Connection
and
Stu Bloom, The Earlville Post
The days of thumbing through a community newspaper are retreating into history in many communities, especially small towns in rural areas.
A Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism report published this year showed fewer that than 5,600 newspapers are still in business in the United States, and that 80 percent are weekly publications.
Since 2005, more than 3,200 print newspapers have vanished. Newspapers continue to disappear at a rate of more than two per week; in the last year alone, 130 newspapers have shut their doors. In addition to those closures and mergers, papers are reducing their print coverage, including shifting from dailies to weeklies or ending print publishing altogether.
Illinois has lost more newspaper journalists, 85 percent, than any state in the nation over nearly two decades, the report says. The state also has lost 36 percent of its newspapers, among the 10 highest losses in the United States. Illinois has four counties that are "news deserts" with no source of local news, and 33 counties are down to one news source.
The report shows four papers still in publication in LaSalle County. Two are weekly newspapers, the Earlville Post and the Mendota Reporter. The daily papers are the Times, published in Ottawa, and the News-Tribune, published in LaSalle.
DeKalb County also has four remaining papers, and Lee County has two.
Zachery Metzger, director of the State of Local News project at Northwestern, said news access nationwide will vary.
"I think that the crisis within newspapers, traditional print newspapers, is going to continue to deepen," Mr. Metzger observed. "A lot of those are going to continue to disappear. I think that the crisis of local news and the loss of news is not limited to rural areas."
He pointed out that few news options remain beyond nationally syndicated TV news from understaffed, overworked stations with limited coverage. He said that social media chat groups like Facebook are platforms that "amplify misinformation and disinformation."
According to the study, people living in "news deserts" tend to be older and less educated, and 16 percent live below the poverty line.
Several locally based independent news ventures have started in the last few years to broaden access to underserved communities. Mr. Metzger reported that since 2019, 95 percent of philanthropic donations to the outlets have focused on heavily concentrated and centralized urban metro areas.
"That doesn't mean that they're not producing a really valuable resource for people within those areas, but those areas have the most news already," Mr. Metzger stressed. "While these new startups are providing really great services, they're often not addressing the needs of people in smaller, more rural or less affluent communities."
Mr. Metzger said he believes that the existence of for-profit and nonprofit news outlets "is always going to be a good thing." He added that there are still some smaller papers doing good work and neighborhoods that are engaged in keeping their local news sources active.
He said he thinks that local newsrooms need state legislative action, greater philanthropic diversity, and donations to survive.
The Illinois General Assembly last spring passed a bill to provide $25 million in tax credits over the next five years for local news organizations to hire and retain journalists.
The General Assembly also passed two other components of a larger package designed to address the local news crisis. One provision deems that a local news organization cannot be sold to an out-of-state company without 120 days' advance notice. And a separate measure creates a scholarship program for students who choose to work at an Illinois local news organization for at least two years after graduation.
The legislation represents "nothing but good news for local newspapers and local broadcasters to be able to take advantage of this tax credit for hiring bright, young journalists," said Don Craven, a long-time media attorney who is now the Illinois Press Association's president and CEO. "I think getting anything passed is a victory. The devil will be in the details as this gets rolled out with the tax folks, but hopefully this will be a way to infuse some new sparks into local journalism."
The General Assembly has under consideration the Illinois Journalism Preservation Act, which if passed and signed by the governor would require big tech companies such as Google and Meta to compensate news organizations for the content that they share, display, or link to on their platforms.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 8, 2025 Contact Information: Christopher Weishaar Digital Public Relations Specialist cweishaar@studentloan.org (515) 273-7140
Six $1,500 scholarships now open to Midwest high school seniors High school seniors from six Midwest states have a chance to earn the scholarships
WEST DES MOINES, IOWA — High school seniors from Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin now have a chance to receive one of six college scholarships worth $1,500. Registration is open now through April 30, 2025. Parents are also able to register their student. High school seniors or their parents may register for the ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/Midwest. ISL Education Lending will award $1,500 scholarships to six students whose names are randomly drawn after the registration period. There are no financial need, grade point average or class rank requirements. The ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship can be used at any eligible institution in the United States. Registered participants also receive emails highlighting financial literacy tips, such as the importance of early career and college planning and ways to reduce student loan indebtedness. “Student loan debt is a huge concern for new college students,” said Steve McCullough, president and CEO of ISL Education Lending. “As a nonprofit, we provide tools and resources to help high school seniors plan so they can reduce the amount of debt they need to take on while achieving their education goals. Students sign up for a chance at a $1,500 scholarship, and we take that opportunity to share information with them about our free resources.” The ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship is open to legal U.S. citizens who are seniors at a high school in one of the qualifying states during the 2025-2026 school year and who intend to attend college, either virtually or physically, in fall 2025. It is a no-purchase-required program, and full rules and details are available at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/Midwest. Additional Resources Available In addition to offering student loans, ISL Education Lending has other resources for families planning for college and for students who intend to pursue advanced degrees. The Parent Handbook consists of valuable tips to help families of students in sixth through 12th grades prepare for success in college and other postsecondary options. Parents of students in eighth through 12th grades can also sign up to receive twice-monthly emailed tips on academic, college and career planning through the Student Planning Pointers for Parents program. The College Funding Forecaster helps families understand the total cost of four years of college based on a freshman-year financial aid offer. Information about these resources is available at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/SmartBorrowing.
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About ISL Education Lending Established in 1979 as Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation, a private, nonprofit organization, ISL Education Lending helps students and families obtain the resources necessary to succeed in postsecondary education. ISL has helped nearly 400,000 students pay for college, offering student loans and other products under the name ISL Education Lending. The organization, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, also provides an array of borrower benefits, financial literacy tools and community reinvestment programs, including support for free college planning services for students and their families. For more information, visit www.IowaStudentLoan.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 7, 2025 Contact Information: Illinois State Medical Society Jann Ingmire janningmire@isms.org (312) 520-9802
Illinois State Medical Society offers free programs for health professionals to address human trafficking awareness
As January marks National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the Illinois State Medical Society (ISMS) is offering a free, two-part webinar series aimed at equipping physicians and other health care professionals with the tools to identify and support those individuals exploited by human trafficking. The series, which is available on demand, is designed to challenge stereotypes, clarify the various factors contributing to trafficking, and provide practical approaches for assisting survivors of both sex and labor trafficking. Health care professionals are uniquely positioned to identify and assist trafficking victims due to their frontline access and trusted roles within the community. By offering these programs, ISMS aims to raise awareness and offer resources to professionals who may come across survivors in their care. January 11 is recognized as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and the month as a whole is dedicated to increasing awareness of trafficking, which affects millions globally. According to a 2017 survey of 127 human trafficking survivors, 69% reported having accessed health care services at some point during their exploitation. Of those, 85% sought treatment for injuries or illnesses related to their trafficking. Despite this, only 6% of health care workers reported having treated someone who was a victim of trafficking. The two no-cost, on-demand programs, available 24/7, offer continuing medical education (CME) credits and are designed to help health care professionals recognize signs of trafficking, improve their response, and ensure proper support for survivors. Human Trafficking: Identification and Response in a Healthcare Setting Presented by Anna Pastor, coordinator, Cook Co. Human Trafficking Task Force Human Trafficking: Practical Approaches and Resources in a Healthcare Setting Presented by Traci Kurtzer, M.D., medical director for trauma informed care and education, Northwestern Medicine The programs are free to all health care professionals and the public.
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