Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
The 160th annual Missouri Press Association convention convenes in Columbia in a few short weeks. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the future of reading the news.
There is good news and bad:
First, the good: Missouri counts more than 180 print newspapers operating statewide. All Missouri counties are served by a printed edition of a newspaper.
And, despite the polling numbers that say many Missourians dislike the media writ large — research shows most Missourians see value in their local news outlet.
The not-so-good news: In 1976, at the 200th anniversary of America, more than half of Americans said they got their news primarily from a printed newspaper.
In 2026, on the nation’s 250th birthday, that number is below 20%.
And it’s not just the reading of newspapers that has declined. The act of what used to be called reading — books, magazines, bedtime stories — has gone from a habit most everyone practiced and enjoyed, to becoming something of a niche hobby.
Yes, book sales in this country rose last year to a level higher than 10 years ago. But look closely and you see the popularity of ink on paper is driven by the same 20% of adults who read newspapers.
People under 30 today consider reading to be looking at their phones. Watching words as they scroll by and short videos that come with a headline.
If you long for the time when reading for pleasure, or reading to be informed, were considered important requisites for good citizenship, what to do?
Scolding people for not reading isn’t an option.
Not when half of adults in this country didn’t read a single book last year but average more than four hours a day using social media
Not when a majority of Americans now say they prefer to get their news on their phones and from social media, like Facebook or Instagram.
The challenge isn’t to force people back to some good old days. Rather, the challenge facing news outlets in 2026 is to find ways to keep the enduring values of being informed with real news from being drowned out in the cacophony of cat videos and filtered influencers who tell you what you want to hear.
A tall task but not impossible. Think of it like adding some new tools to the news toolbox.
For the 20% of folks who still want to read ink on paper, fine. Keep that tool sharp.
For the majority who want news on their phones and social media, develop competent digital editors who know how to stick to the facts and make engaging video.
For the uncounted masses who have lost touch with what fair, accurate, verified news looks like, take on the challenge of training them to be better explorers.
News literacy can be learned. But you need good teachers who can relate to their audience, not talk down to them. Luckily, Missouri has many enthusiastic, talented editors and reporters who demonstrate the tools of news literacy every week.
There is something else truly important to the future of news. And that is building and maintaining what might be called the shared community.
A shared community isn’t everybody thinking alike about guns, or gay rights or gray whales. It’s not a gated neighborhood where you wall yourself off, nor an online interest group that exists only on your screen.
A shared community includes the public spaces, the town hall meetings, the volunteers on local projects and all the rest that make living in a neighborhood or town good for your health. It’s people who decide to come together, not pull apart.
Local news often serves as the life blood of a thriving, shared community. And a sense of shared community can, in turn, provide the nutrients needed to sustain a local news outlet.
They work together. That message is important to remember on the eve of the Missouri Press Association’s 160th Annual Convention.
