Last fall, I put together a piece examining the death of local news, why it matters, and why we should get serious about public funding to save it.
The crux of my argument boils down to this:
[L]osing local journalism is something that should worry us. It’s not just about an antiquated technology or business model replaced by something new. This isn’t the steam engine giving rise to the combustible engine. With the loss of local journalism, we’re losing an integral part of community life. And, despite years of kvetching by tech luminaries and news industry veterans that local journalism just “needs a new business model,” it’s becoming increasingly clear that a better business model doesn’t exist.
“The Public Option: Saving Local Journalism in the Digital Age” (April 5, 2020)
The full article is available on Medium.
Bernie Zipprich 
Good morning Bernie! I was so happy to see your post this morning, I hope it means things are getting better with your hands. You know, I good follow up for this is the important fact that with COVID-19 forcing folks to stay home, their usual sources of local news are not available in many places. And while the news in TV gives them some information, it isn’t likely to tell about their own communities and what is happening in terms of what they need to do for themselves or to help others. For example, in Santa Fe, the only news stations are Albuquerque stations and they do not even mention Santa Fe. So without the Green Fire Times and the Recorder, and our main paper, the New Mexican, we would all be in the dark. How many smaller cities are in the same boat? Good work Sweetie!!! Stay well and safe! C
Sent from my iPhone
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