The Lillie engine that could

MinnPost's Joe Kimball writes While major metros struggle, many newspapers still thriving in smaller towns

Surprisingly, a recent National Newspaper Association poll shows that in 2008, 86 percent of adults read a local community newspaper each week, compared with 83 percent in 2007 and 81 percent in 2005.

"Just about all of the research and news reports on the 'struggling' newspaper industry have been based on what's happening at the top 100 major metropolitan newspapers, maybe the top 250," said Brian Steffens, NNA executive director. "That doesn't tell the story of the remaining 1,200 daily newspapers or 8,000 community weekly papers in America."

And a recent report from national associations showed community newspapers were affected by the challenging economy but in a much smaller way than the industry in general. Financial data collected for the fourth quarter of 2008 by the trade associations Suburban Newspapers of America (SNA) and National Newspaper Association (NNA) showed advertising revenue at $428.7 million, a 6.6 percent decline from the same quarter in 2007.

Sometimes, your local newspaper is the story.