Tough times have hit news firm Fairfax Media, and it could mean dozens of rural newspapers end their circulation.

An article in News Corp media outlet The Australian says more than 30 Fairfax papers are on a “watch list”, and their low reader rates mean they could be closed down.

Fairfax has reportedly admitted it is reviewing its regional businesses, but says no decisions have been made yet.

But independent news may fill that void and if it is made by residents with genuine local needs in mind, an independent paper can certainly fulfil the task.

One rural publisher says many towns do not need regional papers run by the mainstream giants, and that some will be better off if forced to put together their own.

New South Wales new publisher Matt Stadmiller started The Harden-Murrumburah Twin Towns Times in January, and is now outselling the rival Fairfax rag.

“It's been a fairly easy process to do,” theformer Fairfax employee told the ABC.

“I have an advertising background so I'm used to selling space in newspaper for prospective businesses but it certainly didn't take long to learn the software needed to put a paper out and once we partnered with the printer we haven't looked back since.”

The Twin Town Times covers several nearby towns, selling hundreds of copies per week.

“We're pretty happy with our growth at the moment... I think it definitely can be a viable concern,” Stadmiller said.

“[But] we're not just doing it entirely from a commercial point of view... we're doing it for the fact that we like to see our community grow and have events recorded properly within our community for future generations,” he said.

Local newspapers are still a heavily relied-upon means of communication in rural areas, especially where internet access is dismal or non-existent.