“Her firing, leaving the paper virtually staff-less, seemed so unbelievable that the news went viral in media circles after
she tweeted about it. But the quandary [Ashley Spinks] found herself in as the lone reporter at a community newspaper is not unusual. Across the country, places like Floyd County — which boasts one stoplight and fewer than 16,000 residents — have seen their community papers bleed staff, get gobbled up by large corporations or close down altogether. Nearly 6,000 journalism jobs and 300 newspapers have vanished since 2018, according to a University of North Carolina study, with even more outlets disappearing since the pandemic-related recession.”
—SS
