This is good news. I gave up my subscription to my local paper (Syracuse Post-Standard) when they went from publishing a paper 7 days a week to just three, raised my subscription price by 30%, and took away my ability to comment on stories. The current online version is 90% subscriber based, so you can’t even read the articles without a digital subscription.
I get it…these publications are losing money and are struggling to survive. I’m 66 now and for the first time in my life I don’t read a daily paper. I grieve this immensely, so reading about this promising development warms my heart.
Recent years have seen a dramatic decline in local newspapers. As access to the internet expanded, many people stopped paying for the local newspaper. This is a shame because it meant there would be little or no coverage of local government, school boards, and the many decisions that affect daily lives.
An additional reason to worry about the fate of journalist: private equity began buying up news media, slashing their staff, and reselling them to other private investors. Many parts of the country have become news deserts, where cable TV is the only source of news. The talking heads read press releases, and there are few if any investigative reporters.
Democracy requires an informed public, debate and discussion.
Robert Kuttner writes about a hopeful development:
A nonprofit group dedicated to rescuing local newspapers from either collapse or private equity pillaging is buying 22 local papers in Maine. The National…
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