It’s shaping up to be another brutal year for local newspapers, with layoffs on the rise.
Before it’s too late, I want to share some recent stories that are making a big difference in the community.
These columns often talk about the importance of local journalism to civic engagement. This election year is the most important.
But that’s just one reason we need a strong local press system serving cities, rural communities, counties and states.
Another is accountability, as evidenced by investigative stories that uncover wrongdoing, hold officials accountable and drive change.
These are just a few of the stories covered over the past month by Local Matters, a newsletter that produces a weekly compilation of investigative work by local news organizations in the US.
They may not win big awards or get national attention. But this type of journalism provides an invaluable service to local communities and those affected by corruption and misconduct.
Expect fewer stories like this in the future, unless the local news industry’s downward spiral is interrupted by government intervention, philanthropic support and new ways for local news outlets to be adequately compensated for their online work.
In Kentucky: After three years of Lexington Herald-Leader reporting on chronic abuse and neglect at juvenile facilities, the US Department of Justice launched a federal civil rights investigation on May 15 into how youths are treated at eight state detention centers.
Two weeks later, the newspaper announced it would cut its print days to three days a week and outsource it to the U.S. Postal Service. This is described as bringing the paper “closer to an economically sustainable future.” But it is also a sign of the contraction of the newspaper industry.
In Florida: A high-end restaurant has stopped garnishing plates with ferns plucked from a nearby apartment complex, after The Tampa Bay Times reported the plants were regularly peed on by dogs. Influencers on Instagram and TikTok gushed about the green on the plate but did not report the public interest that visitors need.
The Tampa paper is owned by the nonprofit Poynter Institute but is still seeing periodic layoffs, including newsroom cuts last year and the closing of a printing plant in 2021.
In Oregon: Following the crab boat accident that killed three, including the captain’s drug and alcohol addiction, the Oregonian reported on June 16 how the Coast Guard previously recommended more inspections and drug and alcohol testing for captains of all fishing boats. But a Homeland Security advisory committee rejected the recommendation, citing potential industry costs.
On the same day the story ran, editor Therese Bottomly wrote a column reassuring readers that despite “tectonic changes” and cuts to the Oregon newspaper, the stable Oregonian and its newsroom have grown in the past few years.
That followed a decade of cuts and reorganization, including a turn to the internet that reduced the paper’s print run to four editions a week.
“To be sure, The Oregonian/OregonLive has also cut staff over the past two decades, but we’ve built a digital audience large enough to sustain our news operation,” he wrote. “Print subscriptions and advertisers remain important contributors to the bottom line, as well.”
One reason for the stability is that The Oregonian, owned by the New York-based Newhouse media dynasty, is not addicted to debt, Bottomly noted.
In South Carolina: The Post and Courier reported that at least six “elected court officials have been given bonuses or salary increases using a pot of federal money they see to support children and families.”
The paper owned by the family is one of the “bright spots” found by the Medill School of Northwestern University in the report Local News in the State 2023. .
In Louisiana: The Times-Picayune said that the mayor of New Orleans spent one in five days outside the city to travel last year, often to international conferences, which cost taxpayers more than $250,000.
The paper, inspired by the Seattle Times Fund for Investigative Journalism, in 2020 turned to the community to raise money and gained enough support to double its investigative team.
In Massachusetts: The Boston Globe reports that state officials are placing hundreds of homeless families, including migrants with young children, in hotels with registered sex offenders.
The paper is an anomaly. It is one of the lucky few that has been acquired by a local billionaire, providing resources to update business operations and keep the newsroom healthy.
These papers are not immune to the brutal economics of newspaper publishing, but all have experienced layoffs in recent years.
In Pennsylvania: A township disciplined three police officers, including two former police union presidents, but will not name civil servants funded by tax dollars.
Bucks County Courier Times reporter Jo Ciavaglia identified the person by matching the employee number to the payroll records, as Local Matters noted in its June 9 newsletter.
The Courier Times and its sister paper the Doylestown Intelligencer have seen their headcount cut by more than 75% since the local family sold the paper to the giant Gannett chain in 2017, LevittownNow.com reported in 2022.
Even so, Ciavaglia sent out a string of tweets on June 15 describing the important work that continues and encouraging people to subscribe to local newspapers.
The business is changing but one thing about local journalism that continues is “commitment to community,” Ciavaglia wrote. “We can’t cover everything, but we do our best.”