Democracy weaker, society less safe, if local journalism fades, says Tacoma professor

The late US Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill famously said, “All politics is local.” He should have added that all relevant news is local, too.

Too often people believe they are informed if they know what’s happening in Washington, D.C. or Hollywood. But there simply is no substitute for local news.

You may recall, it was a local reporter for The News Tribune who uncovered numerous instances of misconduct by former Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. Another TNT reporter followed a tip about lack of safety precautions at the Narrows Marina boat launch, which resulted in new measures to save Pierce County lives. Just this week we were informed about the salary of our new superintendent of Tacoma Public schools.

All this news and more can be found in your local newspaper. Without curated and professionally reported local news, constituents will seek information about their hometown elsewhere or simply ignore vital issues.

Unfortunately, in the past 15 years, more than 2,100 local newspapers have gone out of business, according to the journalism scholar Penny Muse Abernathy at the University of North Carolina.

Almost half of journalism jobs have disappeared, too — either as a result of those closures or because of constant layoffs and buyouts in newsrooms. This trend plays out not only at newspapers but at digital-only nonprofits, and television and radio stations

It would be easy to cast blame on the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic downturns, but there were downturns in the works before the virus.

Plenty of businesses are suffering because of the virus, so what’s all the fuss about losing local news?

* Local news provides a watchdog force on those elected officials who may need some monitoring to be more responsive and efficient.

Research from the Brookings Institution demonstrated that the loss of government monitoring by local news organizations resulted in higher government wages and deficits.

* Without local news, people become less engaged in issues that affect their community. Research published in 2019 showed that when local newspapers declined, political competition in mayoral races likewise declined.

The research also suggested that lower staffing of local newspapers correlated with lower voter turnout.

* Loss of local news may impact the actual health of a community. Research published in the Columbia Journalism Review noted that the decline in local newsrooms could hinder the detection of the next disease outbreak.

Health officials rely on information collected by local news organization at the same time they rely on local news operations to disseminate truth to the citizens about the distribution of diseases.

* Local history is lost if not reported and archived by local news outlets. Shifting news consumption does not necessarily provide a good substitute for high-quality, locally-sourced journalism maintained in a systematic method of storage.

And where else do we learn about salaries of local officials? No other media can serve as the first draft of history the same way a local news outlet has for hundreds of years.

* Healthy local news outlets tend to raise the bar for more expansive news outlets throughout the country. A recent Knight-Gallup study confirmed that more than six out of 10 U.S. residents believe local news organizations are accomplishing most of the key tasks of informing their communities.

The same study said local journalists are viewed by the public as more caring, trustworthy and unbiased.

Given the scope and the stakes of the problem, federal lawmakers are recognizing how a loss of local news may be more than a single industry experiencing financial difficulties. The atrophy of local news may portend a serious tear in the delicate fabric of our democracy.

Several laws have been recently introduced and need your support in Congress. One such bill is co-sponsored by Washington state Congressman Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside.

This bill, The Local Journalism Sustainability Act (HR 7640), would allow individuals and business taxpayers tax credits for the support of local newspapers and media. Specifically, individual taxpayers would be able to claim an income tax credit up to $250 for subscribing to a local news outlet.

The bill would also allow local newspaper employers a payroll tax credit for wages paid an employee for service as a journalist and certain small businesses a tax credit for local newspaper and media advertising expenses.

The hope is that this bill would be reintroduced during this congressional session. It has bipartisan support with more than 78 cosponsors from across the country.

Sustaining local news is not cheap, but the United States spends less on public media than any other democracy in the world.

Assisting local news is not just about saving a few folks their jobs. It’s about sustaining out democracy while providing our communities with relevant local news today.

Joanne M. Lisosky is an emerita professor from Pacific Lutheran University where she taught journalism for 23 years. She is co-author of the book “War on Words: Who Should Protect Journalists?” and a three-time Fulbright scholar. She lives in Tacoma’s Stadium District.

This story was originally published May 1, 2021 at 12:00 PM.