“News is what people want to keep hidden, everything else is publicity.”

Freedom of speech and assembly is a right guaranteed by the US constitution in which a free press plays an essential role in a modern, complex and interconnected society. Freedom of speech is supposed to assure that “the people” in a democracy have a voice in their community, and the right to assemble and express themselves. And, while everyone can now have their own twitter, facebook or linkedin account to freely post just about anything they wish, the news media become even more important to preserving some kind of unity or cohesion in a democracy. Ultimately that means speaking truth to power, regardless of the cost.

Yet, in a society that idolizes making money on nearly every aspect of communication via TV and the Internet, “the news” has become just another form of delivering entertainment. The half hour national “evening news” is now literally around 15 minutes when you take away commercials and only features about four to five 2-3 minute news story segments. Over the past 20 years, news room staffs have been cut to the bone and foreign reporting bureaus no longer exist.

Lazy journalism

The result is a lazy journalism that focuses on the easiest ways of “reporting” on events of the day with virtually no context.  Repeating presidential tweets, or showing social media clips have now become regular segments on major network news programs. And one need only tune into the always on 24/7 “news channels” to realize how desperate they are to fill airtime with pundit personalities and paid “authoritative” guests charged with turning small or insignificant occurrences into days long coverage. What is missing in all this noise is truly investigative journalism that uncovers what the powers that be wish to keep hidden.

Why we can’t afford to lose local journalism

The legendary journalist Bill Moyers, who is now 85 years old, has seen the struggles of journalism to survive over the past 60 years and it’s prospects in the digital age are not looking up. As Moyers noted in a speech to young students, “Democracy needs journalists, but it takes money to support them.” And he goes on to explain, “A free press, you see, doesn’t operate for free at all. Fearless journalism requires a steady stream of independent income.”

But the traditional model of advertising supporting a free press has died even as the digital age has dominated. Efforts to replace print ads with an online presence and digital advertising have largely failed.  Digital ads and news content paywalls simply don’t generate enough revenue to keep publications alive. As a result, more than one in five papers in the United States have shut down in the past 15 years, and the number of journalists working for newspapers has been .cut in half, according to research by the University of North Carolina’s School of Media and Journalism.  

In many cases, independent local news publications have been bought up by large newspaper conglomerates or private equity groups and stripped of their assets and staff. The old advertising and subscription supported model for local journalism is dying. And the COVID 19 pandemic is accelerating its demise with reported layoffs in the past few months of more than 36,000 news media employees.

There is hope, however—or at least a glimpse of how local journalism might be revived.  An organization called the American Journalism Project has been formed to help fund local independent journalism. With the help of corporate and institutional donors, the organization has begun investing in leaders with newsrooms that hold the powerful accountable, combat disinformation, and deepen civic participation. The project needs to raise about $500 million a year in national philanthropy for local news, which they hope would be matched by another $500 million in membership fees, advertising and other local revenue. The combined $1 billion would allow local publications to approach the size of public radio.

Bill Moyers and his team have also called for federal support for local journalism, arguing that resources are not coming from a “free market” that has stalled out. There has to be a federal fix, and that means that Congress must include muscular support for journalism in forthcoming stimulus measures.

Regardless of what happens at a national level, the future of our democracy lies in the hands of local communities and how they can keep freedom of speech alive by keeping their residents and citizens connected with each other and giving voice to their stories.