NEWBERRY — Why should anyone read local news? They don’t report on the Supreme Court cases, on national news, national tragedies or what goes on in Washington D.C. So, why is reading local news so important to every day life?
Local journalism is a public service that reports on everything that affects the everyday lives of everyday people. Journalists focus on the community, local government, events and every major or minor happenings around residents living in a small community (such as you, the reader of the Newberry Observer). If it affects everyday life, such as a road closing or what the County Council votes on, local journalists are covering it.
Other than just sharing information, local journalism helps encourage the state and local governments to act more efficiently and make better decisions. It encourages the public to take part within the community, whether that be politically, socially and/or economically, by directly reporting on everything regarding the community. Communities with no coverage suffer from consequences that have the potential to affect the outcome on national decisions.
There are around 1,400 communities nationally that do not have any local coverage. Many of these communities suffer the drawbacks that come with no local journalism. These include more government corruption, increased polarization, more misinformation, higher rates of disinformation and less knowledge about local and federal candidates up for election. This lack of knowledge leads to harmful change that doesn’t affect just the community, but decisions on a national level, such as healthcare, employment, the economy and both local and national elections.
Another benefit that local journalism has over bigger networks is exactly that; it’s not a big network or corporation, nobody owns the local paper or journalist. This means the information readers receive is unbiased and not trying to sway readers one way or the other by focusing on the facts rather than the opinions. Unbiased media means more transparency and neutrality, allowing readers to form their own thoughts and opinions versus being told what to think and feel. It leads to a more trustworthy source to get information from and a stronger relationship between the local news and the community.
Local journalists are not in it for the money. The pay for a small town journalist leaves much to be desired, so you can trust that your local writers and editors are there because they care. They are in it for the work itself, to help the public stay informed on everything around them by reporting accurate information. They seek to be someone that the community can trust to be there for them and make their voices heard.
Local journalism provides valuable information and perspective into issues that directly affect the community and its residents. Rather than partake in the culture war that larger outlets fall into, readers can count on local journalism to tell the stories that matter to the community and the choices that will have a direct impact on them.