Tag: newspaper

LOCAL MEDIA: A SMALL TOWN PERSPECTIVE

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By Brad Durham

    Recently, there was an article in The New York Times, “The Theory of Media That Explains 15 Years of Politics.” The article explains how the media has changed from a very small number of trusted sources to an abundance of questionable digital sources. Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-martin-gurri.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2k4.ku6r.CXinZpISRmjN&smid=url-share

         The New York Times article is full of insights about the disruptions to the media. It is worth reading, especially if you are interested in how national politics have been shaped by the different forms of media in recent elections. 

         Reading the article made me think about the traditional media sources in McMinnville. There were no digital platforms or internet when I grew up. Baby boomers such as myself experienced the media in our youth much differently than we do in 2025. 

THAT WAS THEN…

         When I was in the eighth grade during 1970, I would often go to bed listening to WLS-AM out of Chicago playing the Top Forty Hits on the radio. My radio was a Heathkit that I had put together myself. I would go downtown and buy 45 vinyl records of the songs I really liked and wanted to listen to on my turntable/stereo. On Sunday mornings, I would read the newspaper to learn college football scores, stories and pictures from Saturday’s games. Radio and the newspaper were primary sources of music and information.  

         In November of 1963, when I was seven years-old, I vividly remember hearing my father call into my uncle Hal’s radio show in McMinnville on WBMC-AM from Dallas. My dad was reporting that President Kennedy had been shot. My dad’s call had beaten the newswire report to the station, and my uncle recorded the phone call. The radio station replayed the news report from my dad a few times that day – after verifying the story from national sources.

         My father and uncle, Aaron and Hal Durham, worked at WMMT-AM in high school, and then worked their way through college working at radio stations in Knoxville. My father later purchased WAKI-AM (formerly WMMT) in the early 1970s. My uncle Hal became Program Director at WSM and later the General Manager of the Grand Ole Opry.

Left to right: Aaron Durham during his days as owner/manager of WJLE-AM; Hal Durham, General Manger at the Grand Ole Opry.

         I would be interested in what my father and uncle would think about the future of the radio stations and newspaper in McMinnville. When they were broadcasters in college, radio was how people normally first learned about a news story. News headlines were at the top of the hour on radio stations. Today, it is extremely rare for radio to be someone’s first source of headline news.  Nobody is waking up on Sunday morning to first learn about college football scores from the day before in a newspaper. 

         If someone is under 30, I might as well be talking about watching the first man to walk on the moon or riding in a horse and buggy. My early media encounters resemble nothing a 30-year-old has experienced. If someone is under 40, he has probably have never listened to a radio in their bedroom or had a newspaper delivered to his home.  

LOCAL NEWSPAPER AND RADIO STATION OWNERS

         The local newspaper is clearly undergoing changes as it announced its publisher is retiring. The Southern Standard is owned by a private company, Morris Multimedia, located in Savannah, Georgia. Link: https://morrismultimedia.com Morris Multimedia owns over 20 newspapers in five states and six television stations in five states.

         The local radio stations are owned by Main Street Media, which has two local owners in a partnership with a third owner who does not live in McMinnville. Main Stree Media also owns radio stations in Sparta and Crossville. Link: https://mainstreetmedia.llc Main Street Media, who owns the radio stations, is not to be confused with Main Street Media of Tennessee, which owns at least 18 newspapers. Link: https://mainstreetmediatn.com It would be confusing if Main Street Media of Tennessee purchased the local newspaper, which is not out of the realm of possibilities. 

IMPROVISE, ADAPT & OVERCOME

         Talk radio helped radio adapt and thrive in a changing world. No individual changed the format as dramatically as Rush Limbaugh. His syndicated radio show transformed the midday slump of radio listeners (and advertisers) into millions of listeners across the country. Limbaugh became not only an influential republican commentator, he also became a best-selling author and direct-to-consumer salesman. 

         At least one of the four local McMinnville radio stations has added video and social media to its local talk shows to increase its audience. Radio has only one revenue source – advertising. Unless the local radio stations can develop some type of subscription base and direct-to-consumer revenue, they must rely exclusively on advertising dollars to exist.

         Newspapers have also experienced disruptions and challenges. Making newspapers available online and through apps with subscriptions have helped newspapers modify its distribution and survive.  The New York Times has had success digitally by expanding into podcasts, audio versions of articles, and adding games to its subscription package.

         The local newspaper does have a digital subscription option and an app. The newspaper also offers some video content, and it also uses social media to market its stories. The local newspaper has not added podcasts, audio versions or games to its content.

THE MAJOR OBSTACLE

         The digital disruptions are formidable, but the major obstacle to the survival of local radio and the newspaper in McMinnville is the economic landscape. The number of large grossing, locally-owned retail businesses has decreased significantly in the past 50 years. The domination of corporately-owned businesses and family-cartels like Walmart have wiped out numerous local businesses. 

        Franchises became more dominant locally, and are often owned by corporations not located in McMinnville. Amazon became a dominant retailer online. Eventually, many of the locally owned clothing, hardware, grocery stores, etc. ceased to exist. The option of shopping out-of-town has always been a factor.

    The economic changes caused the number of ads on the radio and in the newspaper to diminish. As advertising revenues declined, so did the number of staff at the local radio stations and newspaper. The majority of programming on the local radio stations is presently satellite radio that is not locally produced. The newspaper has less original content and less printed pages than it had 30-50 years ago.

MARKET VALUE OF TRADITIONAL LOCAL MEDIA HAS DROPPED

         The four local radio stations sold in the past year for less than half of their selling price in 1999. It is a tough business that keeps decreasing in value. The radio stations presently have its second set of owners since the hometown owners sold the stations to Clear Channel in 1999. The logical assumption is that the market value of the local newspaper has also declined as well during the past 25 years.

         If people fall out of the habit of listening to local radio and purchasing a local newspaper, the odds of bringing those listeners and readers back are not very favorable. Replacing older consumers of local media with a new, younger group of listeners and readers is an extremely challenging task. Today’s youth obtains their entertainment and news on TikTok and Instagram for free, not radio stations and newspapers. Facebook has the most social media traffic, but it skews to an older demographic.

QUESTIONS THE MCMINNVILLE PUBLIC AND BUSINESSES WILL ANSWER

         Will people change their habits and listen to local radio and read the local newspaper in greater numbers in 2025? Will advertising dollars increase for the radio stations and newspaper in McMinnville? Will local radio and newspaper help shape local political campaigns? Can McMinnville stay aware of itself and its history without local radio and a newspaper? Will the local radio stations and newspaper be around in another 25 years? 

         The changes over the next few months will most likely determine what the future holds for the local radio stations and newspaper. For an older person such as myself, I will not be listening to the radio on my nightstand for the top hits, nor will I be scanning a newspaper for sports’ scores. 

         Changing people’s habits is challenging. Unless the local traditional media can successfully change people’s habits of obtaining news, information and entertainment in McMinnville, the local media will continue to decline in terms of influence and relevance.