Why Local NEWS?

March 29, 2020

New York Times

The coronavirus is likely to hasten the end of advertising-driven media, our columnist writes. And government should not rescue it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/business/coronavirus-journalists-newspapers.html

March 19, 2020

Huffington Post

Reporters from alt-weeklies and local newspapers are trying to cover a crisis that is causing layoffs and closures across the industry.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/journalism-layoffs-coronavirus_n_5e73bc6cc5b63c3b648cb74b

June 21, 2019

Ted Talks

Nearly 1,800 newsrooms have shuttered across the US since 2004, leaving many communities unseen, unheard and in the dark. In this passionate talk and rallying cry, journalist Chuck Plunkett explains why he rebelled against his employer to raise awareness for an industry under threat of extinction -- and makes the case for local news as an essential part of any healthy democracy.

https://www.ted.com/talks/chuck_plunkett_when_local_news_dies_so_does_democracy?utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_campaign=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button__2020-03-06

January 27, 2020

Nieman Lab

One of the most prominent attempts, in Haverhill, Mass., is shutting down before ever launching. But its chief booster keeps hope alive.

https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/01/can-perennial-hopes-for-local-news-co-ops-ever-turn-into-reality/

April 3, 2019

Slate.com

Companies like Google and Facebook left the local news industry in shambles. Are they really the best ones to save it?

https://slate.com/technology/2019/04/google-and-facebook-are-investing-in-the-local-news-business.html

January 12, 2020

New York Times

Like many local and regional newspapers, The Northeast Georgian of Cornelia, Ga., makes little money when its work is shared on big websites like Google and Facebook.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/12/technology/google-facebook-newspapers.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

December 30, 2019

MSNBC.com

Report for America is a program launched in 2017 that sends reporters to under-covered corners of America to bolster local journalism. Co-founder Charlie Sennott joins Morning Joe to discuss.

http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/journalists-head-to-under-covered-areas-of-the-us-75843653576

January 31, 2019

USNewsDeserts.com

From our very beginnings as a nation, newspapers have played a vital role in building community. Strong newspapers fostered a sense of geographic identity and in the process nurtured social cohesion and grassroots political activism. The stories and editorials they published helped set the agenda for debate of important issues, influence the policy and political decisions we made, and build trust in our institutions. The advertisements they carried drove local commerce and regional economic growth by putting potential customers together with local businesses. Ron Heifetz, professor at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, describes a newspaper as “an anchor” because it “reminds a community every day of its collective identity, the stake we have in one another and the lessons of our history. “

https://www.usnewsdeserts.com/reports/expanding-news-desert/

December 10, 2019

The New York Times

Anyone who’s worried about the state of local journalism faces a conundrum. On the one hand, good local news coverage brings big societal benefits, as multiple studies have found. When newspapers shrink or close, voter turnout and civic engagement tend to decline, while political corruption and polarization rise. Even I — a journalist, obviously — have been surprised by the magnitude of these findings.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/opinion/local-news.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

November 20, 2019

The New York Times

The loss of local news coverage in much of the United States has frayed communities and left many Americans woefully uninformed, according to a new report.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/us/local-news-disappear-pen-america.html