It's no secret that the newspaper business is in trouble. It has been for a very long time, with readership shrinking along with ad revenues, and costs continuing to climb. But some newspapers are not content to go gentle into that good night… they’re finding ways to make themselves more valuable to their communities, reflecting the readers’ needs and delivering news in innovative and engaging ways.

At EditorandPublisher.com, Kristina Ackermann and Deena Higgs Nenad put together this list of “10 Newspapers that Do It Right,” celebrating the innovators who are giving their readers more when other publications are giving less or struggling to hold steady. Their innovations include “hyper-local" news coverage, making their newsrooms more transparent and responsive, and in the case of the Times of Northwest Indiana, taking a leadership role in revitalizing the community.

These aren’t novel ideas, really. They reflect the role newspapers played in their communities from the earliest days of the nation. There’s much to learn from these examples, and other publishers would do well to apply those lessons: when your readers consider your newspaper a vital member of the community, they’ll reward you with loyalty and more subscriptions.