The first issue of Illinois Times came hot off the press Sept. 18, 1975. In the pressroom where it happened were, from left, Bill Friedman, founding publisher; Chris Skoczynski, production; behind her, obscured, Victoria Pope, staff reporter; Claudia Dowling, hidden, wearing glasses, staff reporter; Barbara Donohue, holding paper, art director; Ruth and Lester Friedman, supporters.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Illinois Times, a remarkable achievement for a locally owned, independent publication. Over the past few decades, changing trends in readership and advertising have led to steep declines in the number of newspapers nationwide, with the pandemic only accelerating the demise of many publications.
Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism has been publishing an annual “State of Local News Project” since 2016, examining the state of news coverage nationwide. As of 2024, there were 206 counties in the U.S. with no news outlets, and 1,561 counties with only one. In addition, some of the remaining publications are “ghost newspapers,” which operate in name only and have virtually no original, local reporting.
According to the State of the Local News Project, the U.S. has lost one-third of its print newspapers over the past two decades. Fewer than 5,600 newspapers remain, 80% of which are weeklies. Of the 1,000 formerly daily newspapers, only a third of those still print seven days a week.
IT has never missed a week of publishing, even during the height of the pandemic when many other newspapers in our national association suspended printing or switched from a weekly to a monthly format. Many of the publications that stopped printing never resumed it and became digital only.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the State of the Local News Project found that the one area of growth for newspapers is a rise in the number of digital sites, with 105 stand-alone sites launching in 2024 (although 30 of those were newspapers that moved online-only after ending print editions).
In contrast, our goal is to continue to grow our digital presence while retaining our print readership. We print and distribute 20,000 copies a week in Sangamon County and the surrounding area, averaging a 94% pick-up rate. There is clearly still a strong print readership in this market, but we recognize that extending our digital content and social media will help us to reach a younger and more diverse audience. And while we already post new content online almost every day, having additional digital-only content will allow us to focus on more timely and time-sensitive coverage than we can manage with a weekly print edition.
Sangamon County is fortunate to not be classified as a news desert, but there is still a need for more local reporting. The advent of social media has led to a deluge of information, but for the average person it can be hard to verify the accuracy of what is shared and even harder to put it into context. Good reporting not only conveys the immediate happenings, but goes beyond sharing a basic summary to let the reader know the history of the topic and what to look for next.
And while there are a multitude of sources for national news coverage, there are few options for citizens interested in learning about what their municipal government or school board is doing. Even though such meetings are open to the public, most people don’t have time to attend on a regular basis, or even watch a two-or three-hour video of it. That’s one of the reasons we’re enthusiastic about our new partnership with SeeGov.org, which produces highlight reels for Springfield City Council and Springfield District 186 meetings (see p. 12 for details). We hope to expand this coverage as well, both by producing regular highlight reels for additional types of meetings and pairing those with news articles that expand on the topics discussed.
In the coming months, we plan to hire our first digital media coordinator to expand our online presence, along with ramping up our photography and videography. We currently have two digital newsletters every week – a news and opinion edition on Monday and an arts and entertainment one on Thursday – and envision expanding that to daily weekday coverage.
We’ll also be adding a full-time reporter July 7 when our Report for America corps member joins us. We’re teaming up with this national service program to fill critical news gaps in our community with a talented, next-generation journalist (see p. 12).
While the overall state of the news industry may be dire, we believe that Illinois Times can not only survive another 50 years and beyond, but expand and improve coverage of our community and the surrounding area. As we enter our sixth decade, we owe our legacy to the loyal readers and advertisers who have supported us all this time, and we hope that the community shares our vision for more reporting on the topics that matter most to the citizens of central Illinois.
Illinois Times to host Report for America corps member
Report for America is a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. It’s a two-year program (with an option for a third year and/or transitioning into a permanent position) and is a competitive process for both the participating newsrooms and young journalists. Last year, more than 1,000 applications from corps members were received.
Their proven partnership model is structured to harness the skills and idealism of an emerging group of journalists plus the creative spirit of local news organizations like ours. Beyond paying up to half of the journalists’ salaries, Report for America provides ongoing training and mentorship by leading journalists, peer networking and memberships to select professional organizations.
This was the first year that IT applied to be a host newsroom, joining an expanding networking of more than 400 newsrooms nationwide benefiting from the support of this nonprofit program. More than 100 newsrooms will make up the 2025-2026 cohort, with three-quarters partnering with Report for America as traditional host newsrooms for corps members and a select group taking part in a pilot accelerator program to develop sustainable business models through local philanthropy.
“This marks an exciting expansion of our proven model,” said Kim Kleman, executive director of Report for America. “Not only are we recruiting and placing exceptional journalists in communities that need them most, but we’re significantly increasing our efforts to help newsrooms become more financially stable.”
The 66 incoming host newsroom partners represent some of the highest need areas for local news. Highlights of this cohort include:
A majority (59%) are small newsrooms like IT, with nine or fewer editorial staffers.
Coverage of rural communities, the environment and local government are the most requested beats of this group.
Sixty-five percent are nonprofit newsrooms; 35% are for profit.
More than half (57%) are new newsroom partners with Report for America; the rest have had one or more corps members previously.
More than 82% of corps members continue to work in the field after program completion. With nearly half of Report for America journalists identifying as journalists of color, high rates of retention are essential to a transformed news landscape. Report for America is an initiative of The Ground Truth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.
To make this initiative successful, we need financial support from local organizations, businesses and individuals like you. To be a Report for American host newsroom, Illinois Times has to provide $35,000 in year one to help fund the salary for the corps member. Your contribution – whether through a one-time donation or ongoing support – will help ensure that our community has dedicated reporting, offering fact-based, relevant and timely news coverage. With your support, we can preserve the integrity of local journalism and strengthen civic engagement within our community. You may contribute at illinoistimes.com/communityjournalism or mail a check to Illinois Times, 1240 S. Sixth St., Springfield, IL, 62703.