Just as an increasing number of local news organizations are closed or consolidated around the country, it’s becoming more apparent how important local news is to the health and wellbeing of communities. Studies have shown how local journalism increases voter turnout, holds businesses accountable for pollution, and keeps tabs on government spending. Most journalists could tell you these things in a heartbeat, but many worry that the typical American just “doesn’t care about journalism.”
But what if that idea misses the mark? What if, instead of urging the public to care about the future of news, we ask communities how they want to receive their information, and how they want their story to be told?
These issues and questions were the focus of Thursday’s webinar, Advancing Public Policies to Support Local News, put on by Common Cause Ohio, Policy Matters Ohio, and Free Press. Zach Schiller and Caitlin Johnson (Policy Matters Ohio) walked the audience through the major findings of their recent report Breaking news: Newspaper closures hurt Ohio communities. Catherine Turcer and Yosef Getachew from Common Cause discussed the impacts of newsroom consolidation on communities and the work Common Cause has done to fight this rapidly emerging trend in Ohio. Mike Rispoli and Madeleine Bair of Free Press’s News Voices program rounded out the webinar by sharing lessons learned from the organization’s grassroots campaign to fund civic news and information in New Jersey.
The conversation was energizing. Participants discussed how they’re helping traditional media but also offered new ideas for creating sustainable news business models. There was conversation about next steps. If you couldn’t make the call, here’s a brief summary of what we’re taking away.
Facing the reality of consolidation, cutbacks, and merges
Policy Matters Ohio is committed to creating a “vibrant, equitable, sustainable and inclusive Ohio.” Local media plays a huge role in that. But since 2004, Ohio has lost 32% of its local newspapers. This has resulted in a loss of jobs, from editors to graphic designers to delivery staff, and for people that remain, pay hasn’t increased much.
Zach and Caitlin dug into the data behind why this is happening: ad revenue for local news is dropping as Facebook and Google capture 77% percent of local digital ad revenue. This advertising was the “bread and butter of newspapers for many years,” and most weren’t prepared to compete with the rise of social media ads.
But another major issue is the operating model of media conglomerates, such as Gannett and Gatehouse, which announced their intent to merge in August 2019, uniting the majority of local newspapers in Ohio under one owner. According to the Poynter Institute, already $275 million to $300 million in cost-saving “synergies” have been floated. The majority of those are the consolidation of business functions and more reporter layoffs.
Where does that leave communities?
Protecting Access to Local Information
Yosef Getachew (Common Cause) made it clear that these conglomerates are focused on the money that could be made down the line, especially through TV advertising during the election season. The staff cuts they make reduce the commitment to locally sourced news and don’t allow for deep dives of investigative reporting. All of these factors threaten the diverse set of voices and access to information we need for communities to thrive.
That’s why Common Cause worked to oppose the Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media Company merger that would have given the broadcasting company access to 73% of US households. They filed a petition to deny the merger, which was made possible in the first place by a recent relaxation of FCC media ownership regulations. Common Cause sued the FCC for these lax rules, and just this week the 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals threw out the FCC rollbacks, under the findings that the FCC did not consider the impact of these regulations on race and gender diversity in media ownership. So, according to Yosef, at least for now, this update should put the brakes on many of the mergers and consolidations we’ve been seeing.
An Opportunity for Increased Public Funding
There’s also countless groups working across Ohio to strengthen local news (including Your Voice Ohio!). Zach from Policy Matters Ohio acknowledged that these organizations are doing incredible work, but public policy and investments also need to be part of the solution. Their recommendation is for the General Assembly of Ohio to boost support for public broadcasting.
Almost all of Ohio’s 88 counties are covered by a public radio station, which is especially important in areas with poor broadband access. State spending for public broadcasting is well established, but there’s a key opportunity to boost this funding significantly through the legislature to provide more meaningful news coverage.
Creating “Constituents for Journalism”
Similar to the crisis facing Ohio, in New Jersey, dozens of newsrooms have closed down or become consolidated. To confront these issues, in 2015, Free Press founded the News Voices program, which aimed to include the public’s perspective in the future of news. Madeleine Bair said it was time to see the public not just as “news consumers,” but as “constituents for journalism.” If the public seems dismissive, it may suggest that local journalism isn’t benefiting them. But by bringing community members to the table, they can transform into local news champions. A key component of this project was securing public funding as a way to address newsroom gaps.
In 2017, Governor Chris Christie was selling off public TV licenses, and Free Press wanted to use the opportunity to see if that money could be invested in news deserts. They established the Civic Info Consortium, a public charity that would receive $100 million in public funding over 5 years. The 501c3 Consortium would have a bipartisan board, focus on underserved communities, and partner with local universities. To guide the project development, they held 10 forums around New Jersey in 2017, asking people what the loss of local news meant for them. Participants shared how they would use the funding to better inform their community, which the News Voices staff showed to lawmakers.
Mike Rispoli, reflecting on this part of the project, said that people saw value in supporting local news when the focus was on the health of the community, not about saving journalism. In 2017, the Civic Info Bill was introduced, but didn’t pass under Governor Christie. Undeterred, the News Voices crew decided to do it all over again in 2018. Although most of the original $100 million was gone, funneled towards other budget items, they aimed for a one-time seed investment of $5 million. That bill passed with broad bipartisan support in June 2018, and although the money hasn’t made it to the Consortium yet, they are continuing to campaign and pressure the state to officially set aside these finds.
Although this project was quite the “roller coaster ride,” as Mike put it, there’s lots to take away. He stressed that it’s time to stop centering the future of journalism in our efforts, and focus on the harms felt by communities at the loss of local news. It’s especially important to involve underserved and marginalized communities, and he urged journalists to stop talking about the “Good Ol’ Days” of journalism that actually hurt many people. He wrapped up by saying any successful public solution must:
- Center community news and information needs
- Involve community engagement, and invite people to draft solutions
Mike’s recognition of the importance of engagement and public ownership to confront the local news crisis is supported by what we’ve seen since 2016 at Your Voice Ohio. We’ve heard Ohioans say repeatedly that they didn’t know how difficult journalism is, and second, communities need to appreciate and support that work.
However, they also said that journalists need to stop highlighting the failures of their communities and start telling the stories of hard work and struggle that resulted in solutions to community problems.
One of Mike’s closing thoughts was that when journalists invest in communities, communities invest in journalism. We’ve heard the same. As we explain in community meetings across the state that journalists want to help communities improve, we hear people say they didn’t know journalists cared.
What’s Next?
If you’re interested in exploring what steps Ohioans can take together to advance solutions to the state’s local news crisis, Free Press, Common Cause, and Policy Matters Ohio want you to be part of the ongoing conversation! Sign up here if you’re interested.
A recording of the conversation is available at Policy Matters Ohio.
