Community Newspapers Playing Critical Role in Metro Detroit in 2019

The world of journalism is in a continuous state of flux in 2019. Battles between media outlets and officials in the highest political offices casting them as “fake news,” financial challenges, and increasing competition for audiences are all ever-present issues for journalists.

Amid these challenges, community newspapers are still putting out print and online editions to make sure their audience is informed about important issues in their own backyard.

The Troy-Somerset Gazette has been doing that since 1979, celebrating its 40th anniversary on Monday.

The paper has been a free weekly for that entire time, an accomplishment of which Gazette Media Group Managing Editor Andrew Neal is especially proud.

“We still subscribe to the old model and we have survived for 40 years because of it,” says Neal on Detroit Today with Stephen Henderson. 

Neal says Gazette has, however, had to come up with creative ways to bolster its bottom line. That now includes an entire events side of the business, which hosts community expos to help pay for the paper.

“We’ve done that as sort of a response to understanding that we want people to access the news for free still,” he continues. “We don’t want people to have to pay to read the Gazette…So we’ve had to diversify a little bit already with our events side. But that’s going really well, and its allowed us to maintain the same exact quality of journalism, but also the same product of a free, independent newspaper.”

Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.