The Graphic Expands Coverage To Ozark: The Spectator Closes Its Doors

by Megan Wylie

The findings are staggering: Increased levels of corruption and misinformation, higher crime rates, declines in community engagement, lower voter turnout, decreases in government efficiency, including higher borrowing costs, reductions in local economic activity due to lack of promotion, and social fragmentation which ruptures the warp and woof of a community. All these are common results of news deserts – communities which have lost their local newspapers and are left with no credible source for local news.

While we have been fighting to avoid a similar fate in Johnson County, we were saddened to learn recently that our friends at The Spectator in Ozark would be publishing their last issue this past week, leaving a news desert right next door.

In that final publication, it was interesting to hear from many readers who expressed the reasons the paper had been so important to them and their families over the years. Warm phrases like “history in the making,” “our children’s achievements,” “professional and fair reporting,” and “a great loss to the business, civic and cultural effect of our fair hamlet,” were used to describe the great value a local newspaper has brought to a small Arkansas town for over 113 years, through the tireless work of professional journalists and local citizens who cared heart and soul for the greater good of the community.

I wish it was a rare occurrence, but unfortunately it is the majority report across the nation. According to research from Statista, the number of non-daily newspapers in the United States has fallen from over 7,400 to less than 4,800 over the last 20 years. That’s a decline of over 2,500 newspapers – a 36 percent reduction. Many of those were smaller, community newspapers.

Future Plans

Since we, for many years, have had numerous subscribers and a general circulation in Franklin County, we have reached out to the city of Ozark’s public officials, Franklin County public officials, and the school district to provide them with a resource to make their public notices available in The Graphic, so the citizens of their community can be properly served with their right to know.

Additionally, we have made initial arrangements with former staff members of The Spectator to provide reporting on meetings, Hillbilly sports and news, and special events in the area. We already have some of that content in today’s issue. We hope to publish Ozark area obituaries soon, as well.

Rest assured, our decision will not affect our coverage of Clarksville and Johnson County. Our readers here at home will still enjoy all the usual local content and will have the added benefit of learning a bit more about our neighbors to the west.

We have been open about our own struggle to stay afloat and are grateful for the increase in support we have seen from businesses and individuals here who recognize an investment in the local paper is an investment in the community. With our expansion to the west, our advertisers will see an added benefit of exposure to a broader audience…more bang for their buck! And Ozark advertisers will too!

As one can guess, with wider coverage comes increased costs for payroll, printing, and distribution. To remain viable, the amount of news we can cover in the Ozark area will be directly proportional to the amount of community support we receive there. As is the case here at home, financial support from the Ozark community through subscriptions, paper sales, advertising, and public notice will be essential for us to continue our presence there. We plan to start slowly and, if we gain enough support, we hope to grow in our capacity for coverage of the area.

With this in mind, we are working to make papers available where The Spectator used to be found and in some new places, too. Look for us in your favorite businesses and thank them for supporting community news and keeping it alive in Ozark. Thank you to Harps of Ozark, who was the first to welcome us and ensure its customers didn’t miss a single week of local news and sports. Starting this week, you’ll find us at each register there, right where The Spectator used to be.

Make no mistake, we have neither the intention nor the ability to replace a community institution like The Spectator. But if we can play a small part in keeping citizens informed and staving off the deleterious effects to small towns when they lose their papers, then we are fulfilling our mission to serve the community, while caring for our neighbors.

This editorial appears in the Oct. 2 edition of The Graphic, found online or in businesses throughout Johnson and Franklin counties.