Statesboro—Whether you grew up here in Statesboro, or are from a more metropolitan area of Georgia, if you live in Statesboro, you have no doubt read the Statesboro Herald. It is our local, small town, newspaper. I grew up reading this newspaper, and happen to like it very much. So does Statesboro Herald editor Jim Healy. In a recent visit to a Georgia Southern University Journalism class, Healy said: “I chose small town newspapers because I like to have more of a say (in what goes in the paper).”

There are many differences in small town newspapers, and big city newspapers. The first of them being very obvious, the size of the paper itself. Small town newspapers, like the Statesboro Herald, are usually only five or six pages long. Big city newspapers like the Atlanta Journal Constitution can have more than twenty pages. Another main difference is the content of the newspaper. Small town newspapers often include births in the community, and daily events of community members. Big city newspapers report mainly statewide and national events.

What some people may not realize is that by reporting the daily life events of local people, newspapers serve an important function in communities like Statesboro and the surrounding counties. Small town papers can convey a positive community mood.

Instead of covering national and state news, the role of small newspapers is to concentrate on local, personal and community events. In the process, they help local citizens define what it means to be a member of the local community. Small town newspapers help community members feel connected to each other. When I see a graduation announcement in the paper of one of my friends, I feel a sense of pride and connection to my community.

This is another difference in small town and big city newspapers. A big city newspaper will only report things that happen in the lives of important people. If the Governor Purdue takes a trip to Washington D.C., you can be sure that it will be an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Something else you can be sure of—you will never see an article about a livestock contest at the local fair.

The main reason I enjoy reading small town newspapers is to keep up with my alma mater, Portal High School. I enjoy reading about the successes the school has achieved since I graduated. I mainly enjoy reading about the sports teams. I was on the football and baseball teams at Portal High, and have a sense of pride when the teams succeed.

People that subscribe to small town newspapers want to receive this type of personal community news. If small town residents in Georgia want to receive news about statewide events, they can subscribe to a big city newspaper like the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Small town newspapers differ from the bigger newspapers in still another way: big town papers tend to report more bad news; small town papers specialize in good news. In big towns, sometimes the only way for ordinary people to get their names in the paper is to commit a crime or be a victim of a crime. There are so many people and so many events to report in big cities, that there isn't enough space to report the small good things that happen in everyday life. Small town newspapers are the place to receive this good news. It seems normal to think that reading about more good news than bad news can help people have a positive view and be nicer to each other. This outlook can make life more pleasant, and community members gather together.

In his visit to my Journalism class, Healy also talked about the fate of small town newspapers. He says they are here to stay. The Statesboro Herald is growing in circulation, and at this time sells over 8,000 newspapers per day. Even though we are in the information age where we can get our news from our cell phones, traditional forms of print newspapers aren’t going anywhere. As long as there is news, there will be a newspaper and as long as there is a Statesboro Herald, I will subscribe to it!