September 9, 2026

Linn County News

Jackielcn1@gmail.com

The Linn County News is excited to announce the newspaper has been selected to participate in a prestigious national initiative focused on the future of community journalism in rural America.

Over the coming weeks, Linn County News staff, readers, advertisers and community members will work together as part of an important national effort examining how local newspapers can remain strong, sustainable and community focused for generations to come.

The project brings together newspaper leaders, journalism researchers and rural communities to help develop new models for local journalism at a time when newspapers across the country continue facing enormous challenges.

Teri Finneman, a journalism professor at the University of Kansas and co-author of Reviving Rural News: Transforming the Business Model of Community Journalism in the U.S. and Beyond, will be leading the initiative.

Finneman, who has worked with newspapers across the Midwest as part of the initiative, said communities selected for the project are chosen carefully. Funding support is provided by KU’s Hall Center for the Humanities.

“The Linn County News and this community have a real opportunity here to be a leader not only in Kansas but across the nation for how to be a model for local news,” said Finneman, who is originally from a town of 2,500 in western North Dakota. “The newspaper staff here is clearly committed to doing that, and we need the public’s help to hear their voices, too.”

The initiative will include community surveys, focus groups and public discussions designed to gather feedback from residents of all backgrounds and perspectives. Organizers said public participation will play a major role in helping shape future decisions and priorities for the newspaper.

The Linn County News is among only a limited number of newspapers nationwide given this incredible opportunity, which has already strengthened newspapers in North Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Tennessee and Kansas.

Linn County News publisher Jackie Taylor said she is honored to have the newspaper chosen and believes the opportunity represents something much larger than the newspaper itself.

“This is a major opportunity not just for the Linn County News, but for our entire community,” Taylor said. “We are incredibly proud that the Linn County News was selected to help lead conversations about the future of local journalism and rural communities.”

Since taking ownership of the Linn County News in April 2000, Taylor has focused heavily on investing in the newspaper.

“I believe in the newspaper industry, especially in mid-sized markets such as Linn County,” said Taylor.  “This initiative gives residents a chance to directly help shape the future of their newspaper. This is an incredibly important moment for the Linn County News and Linn County.”

 At a time when many rural newspapers are disappearing, the Linn County News has been given an opportunity to help shape what the future of community journalism could look like locally and nationwide.

“The business model most newspapers still rely on was developed in 1833, when Andrew Jackson was president,” Finneman said. “It assumed news should be dirt cheap and endlessly subsidized by advertising. That model no longer works. No other business could survive on a 200-year-old structure. Newspapers have to change, and we need the community’s support to do so.”

Readers can take the survey here by Sept. 18: tinyurl.com/LinnCountyNewsSurvey