Support Local Journalism During COVID-19 Outbreak
Joe Heller’s cartoons have always struck a chord with me. His cartoons are syndicated nationally to more than 350 newspapers, but his home base was the Green Bay Press-Gazette and its 41,000 daily circulation from 1985-2013.
The cartoon above speaks an all-too-familiar truth: local journalism has struggled to stay relevant alongside the internet for a long time. I worked as a sports reporter for ten years. I experienced furloughs and pay cuts, but I made the leap into public relations at just the right time, avoiding a layoff at my last paper, NOLA Media Group/Times-Picayune, in New Orleans. My friends weren’t so lucky. Heller, the cartoonist, was laid off in 2013.
In light of this unprecedented pandemic, it’s a good reminder that community journalists and hyperlocal news are more important than ever. Why? Because local newspapers have always done what the national media couldn’t: represent the pulse of our communities. They keep us informed at city council meetings and keep authority accountable. They know our identity, our businesses, our values, our people, and our imperfections. The journalists live in the same neighborhoods we do and are being directly impacted, same as their readers.
“A city without a newspaper is a city without a soul.”
Local journalists, just like so many small businesses right now, are struggling to stay afloat in this climate. Many of our local contacts and media friends at outlets like D Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer as well as journalists in every community across the country, are facing mandatory furloughs, pay cuts, and layoffs. Online advertising, the lifeline for newspapers, magazines, and other media, is shrinking fast.
Now is the time to support local journalism just like we’re supporting our local businesses. As we navigate our new normal, many publications are offering their COVID-19 coverage without a subscription or paywall. Journalists continue to crank out stories as they shelter in place or demonstrate social distancing during in-person interviews.
My friends, who are sports reporters, aren’t on the sidelines without sports to cover. Their beat has just shifted, writing COVID-19 stories, too, to ensure everyone has access to the most credible information in their communities. They are telling the stories from a local perspective, giving readers up-to-the-minute information about wide-reaching impacts in their own backyard.
As we lean on our friends and family more than ever, let’s lean on local journalism, too. I challenge each of you to buy the paper, get an online subscription or purchase that ad. Keep it well after all of this is behind us. It’s the best thing we can do.
— Kelly Morris