Delaware County has a rich history of traditional news, from a newspaper that has been publishing in Delaware County for over a century to a television channel that provides essential information to the county’s diverse communities.

Despite recent trends that have left many communities without traditional news sources, Delaware County, in comparison to other areas, has a solid number of options.

As a result of newspaper losses, many counties in the United States lack a single traditional news source. Without sources, these areas become what researchers call news deserts.

In its most recent data, the Civic Information Index, “a practical data tool that helps users understand the civic health of their communities,” noted that Delaware County, however, has more than two news outlets.

While the Index does not list the newsrooms, the county is currently served by several traditional legacy newspapers, including the Delaware County Times and The Spirit.

This year, the Delaware County Daily Times celebrates 150 years of publication. A century and a half allows a newsroom to maintain deep, long-lasting relationships within the community it serves.

“Well, the Daily Times has a long history,” said editor Keith Mayer. “And so, people who are native to Delaware County, you say the name and right away … They know who we are.

A survey commissioned by the Center for Community-Engaged Media found this to be the case. This survey, which was produced by Qualtrics, asked just over 500 people where they got news and information about Delaware County. The most prevalent answer was what many residents now call the Delco Times.

Despite this name recognition, staff claim that the key to sustaining visibility in the community has been engagement.

I've developed a lot of sources in the community, so I maintain relationships with them,” said Daily Times journalist Kathleen Carey. “It takes time to tender those and it's also taken time to build respect with these people.”

While the Daily Times has its own approach to keeping Delaware County connected, including state and national coverage, The Spirit, focuses more on hyperlocal coverage.

“It could be anything from announcements, people getting appointed to stuff, promoted to stuff or it could be the controversial stuff,” said Paul Bennett, founder of The Spirit. “We run the gamut, but it's generally information that you're not going to find in major media. Even if it is a story that's covered by major media, there's always an angle that we have that's different.”

The Spirit makes a concerted effort to publish stories that represent the positive side of Delaware County, especially for communities that have been assigned historically harmful reputations by the media. Bennett specifically founded the newspaper, originally known as the Chester Spirit, to combat negative stereotypes and to provide more positive stories about local residents in Chester. It has since taken that same approach in coverage communities throughout the county.

“Delaware County is a very well-connected community," said the Spirit’s founder. “[Delaware County] cares about what's going on in the world, but it cares more about what's going on in the  [local] community.”

Other news sites

The Index, however, does not always capture the newsrooms that cover a community. This is the case in Delaware County, where other operations provide news coverage, often on a routine basis. This includes Patch.

A national, digital-first operation that places reporters in local communities, Patch provides coverage of several communities in Delaware County, notably Haverford, Marple, Media, Springfield and Radnor.

“We have sites all over,” said Max Bennett, the former editor of Delaware County Patch. “Each Patch site has its own Facebook page.”

“What we've been doing recently to drive engagement on Facebook is the ‘Link in comments’ style post where you post a photo and say, ‘Full story in the comments,’” Bennett continued. “We've seen success in increasing engagement through that method.”

The county is also the home to several student newsrooms.

The Waltonian, Eastern University’s student-run newspaper, works to connect the school’s student body with the community just outside of campus. While the relationship between students and the community they call home for nine months a year can be complex, the student paper hopes to create mutual care and understanding between the two.

“[The Waltonian] wants to be a lens for the larger community and a bridge to our outside community, because that also helps Eastern as a whole,” said The Waltonian’s Editor-in-Chief Hannah Bonanducci. “We want our community to care about what Eastern, as a university, is doing, because we're in that community.”

“I think journalism absolutely needs [connection] for it to continue to do what it's doing well, but also so we're building community,” Bonanducci added. “I think that journalism that doesn't build community or start conversation has failed drastically.”

Other student newsrooms serving Delaware County include the Swarthmore Phoenix.

Beyond print media, Upper Darby Television (UDTV) also provides traditional news coverage. As Delaware County’s population has diversified, including a growing immigrant population, UDTV has become increasingly important in dispersing news in a more accessible manner.

UDTV is a PEG (Public, Educational, Governmental) channel that offers coverage of township meetings and local happenings.

“I think it is very important for people who can't get to the meetings,” said Rob Ellis, public information officer for Upper Darby Township. “We also have some older folks who aren't as computer or tech savvy, who may not be familiar with YouTube or be able to watch something from a social media standpoint. They’re still old school, you know, they just want to watch their TV.”

UDTV aims to provide coverage and resources in as many ways as possible, combining the television channel with YouTube, social media and their own website. UDTV also sees the potential in more collaborative efforts, especially those that combine traditional and non-traditional media.

“I don't think, you know, there's only one way to do things. I think there's a lot of different ways to reach people,” said the UDTV representative. “I'm game for whatever seems to work best, whatever is the best connectivity.”