A question of scale …

… The American Scholar: Better on Paper — Walter Nicklin. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

Precisely because the Rappahannock News is so small, the lessons may be large. That’s my hypothesis, anyway: the media mantra of “scaling up” and “monetizing eyeballs” is a siren song. Print publications that are thriving focus not on the quantity, but the quality, of their readership. Or for those who think of reading as a form of nourishment, a good analogy might be the “Eat Fresh, Eat Local” food movement in reaction to industrialized agriculture and packaged, processed products of grocery chains. When we analyze the best and most successful print products, money should not be our only metric.

It also helps if those working for a newspaper get to know the people who are likely to read it. Hanging out with your peers isn't very broadening of your viewpoint.