If you follow Stafford Free Press on Facebook, surely, by now, you have come to understand how I feel about the importance of local news. I frequently share stats and research about everything from the decline in local newspapers to the impacts that it has on communities. Because our resources and scope are so limited, I do my best to engage with and amplify the coverage of other outlets who share news that’s relevant to Staffordites but that sometimes just serves to underline the dwindling coverage towns like ours receive. Still, I soldier on because I honestly believe it’s integral to a healthy community.
Local reporters covering the communities they live in are often in a strange situation. They, as humans, have opinions about the right direction for the places they live (see my constant yelling about sidewalks) but also have to maintain some semblance of impartiality. Meanwhile, when you cover your own community, you have a unique perspective. Just by existing in a place and being curious, you tend to hear from a lot of people about what they think is wrong in town. Meanwhile, you pay a lot more attention to the mechanics of what’s going on at Town Hall than the average citizen. In other words, you have the best seat in the house.
So, it comes as no surprise to me that Pew Research found that “Most Americans say local journalists should remain neutral on issues in their community, but a substantial minority say local journalists should take a more active role.” In a lot of ways, local reporters, who spend their time listening and digging, are particularly well suited to advocate for their communities. Still, all the training we’ve ever received tells us not to. Frankly, it’s a little maddening, especially in a time when so many people seem to prefer opinion over facts.
That same Pew research found that local news tends to occupy a special place in peoples’ hearts and minds: “Majorities of both major parties say local media in their area are doing their jobs well. While Republicans and GOP-leaning independents are slightly less positive than Democrats and Democratic leaners in their opinions of local media, views of local news don’t have the same stark political divides that exist within Americans’ opinions about national media.” We know it’s increasingly rare that people on opposite ends of the political spectrum can agree on much of anything, so it’s telling that local news seems to bring people together.
Typically, we do not delve into divisive topics. We sit in boring meetings that the average person does not make time for, and we report what happens there. Once in a while, we get lucky, and someone says or does something interesting, but most of the time, it’s pretty mundane stuff. There's not a whole lot to get worked up about.
Still, reporters are human, and we bring our own perspective to what we do, and sometimes, that perspective could be considered biased. Just by deciding to pursue one story over another, we inject some level of bias into the coverage. We sit through long meetings and make decisions about what’s relevant or interesting and what’s not. That’s a total judgment call. So, it’s on us to constantly ask ourselves if we’re being fair.
When I post a video lamenting the atrocious conditions of the sidewalks on East Street, I’m clearly showing my pro-sidewalk bias. It’s hard to imagine who could take issue with this or find it in any way political, so I let that one slide. When I’m forging into opinion territory, I point out my personal feelings on the subject clearly in the text and keep it confined to editorials. That’s me advocating for change like so many of those Pew respondents wish local media would do.
If someone were to provide a legitimate example of biased news coverage that I could not legitimately defend as accurate and appropriate, I would gladly engage in a discussion about how to improve the nature of my reporting. I can tell you, however, that almost never happens. Two decades of working in media have taught me that most complaints boil down to “I didn’t like this,” but not liking something and that thing being biased or inaccurate are very different things. Just because you do not agree with something doesn’t actually make it wrong, which we have lost sight of in this country.
Ironically, the very thing that could help improve our public discourse and equip people with better information is dying, and its impacts are devastating. The American Journalism Project sums it up pretty nicely: “Research shows that the loss of local news is having an insidious effect on our democracy — contributing to polarization, decrease in voting, and government accountability. Local news is an essential lever to a healthy democracy; it helps communities understand what’s at stake in local elections, equips them to get involved in the political process by voting, contacting officials and running for office, reduces political polarization, and holds public officials accountable.”
Meanwhile, the situation is made worse by “pink slime” media outlets that masquerade as local news while publishing poor quality (often AI-written) content and engaging in purposely incendiary, inaccurate, and almost always ideologically-driven “coverage.” Luckily, no one seems to be interested in them either. Still, people with an agenda see how important local news is when seeking to influence others. So, the next time someone is denigrating any media outlet or advocating for less access to information, ask yourself, who benefits when there is no watchdog and the public is uninformed? I promise it’s not you.