State-level Media is on the Ropes, but Here’s Reason for Hope

For the news industry, it’s the best of times and the worst of times.

Almost everyday journalists across the country are uncovering corruption, exposing systemic abuses and holding those in power accountable at a pace that is challenging, even for the most ardent news junkie to follow.

Marquee publications are experiencing a renaissance. Cable news viewership is booming.

Unfortunately, those successes are limited to a handful of outlets.

In state capitals, elected officials make decisions that directly affect people’s daily lives but go unreported. From 2008–2018, newsroom employment in the U.S. fell 25%, with a 47% decline at newspapers. In 2019 alone, more than 3,000 reporters lost their jobs and recent projections are bleak: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the profession to shed another 5,000 jobs and decline by ten percent over the next decade. Earlier this month, McClatchy, the legendary newspaper chain with 30 outlets in 14 states filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

When reporters lose their jobs and outlets disappear, it’s not just the employees who are hurt. It contributes directly to a less efficient government and more public corruption because there is less scrutiny.

This void in our state news ecosystems is only growing.

All too often when newspaper companies and/or hedge funds come in and take over financially struggling outlets, they strip them to sell for the parts. What’s left are the shells of once good or even great news organizations, with an anemic staff of overworked, underpaid journalists producing a fraction of the original content. In short, the supposed cure for many struggling outlets is almost as bad as the disease.

Alternatively, the void is filled by partisan news outlets on both ends of the political spectrum that are driving a political agenda under the guise of objective reporting and deliberately spreading misinformation.

These models aren’t sustainable or responsible. The public deserves better.

Already, an estimated 1,300 communities have turned into “news deserts” with virtually no coverage of local issues. No community is immune. Even New York City, a global media capital and the largest city in the country faces the same challenges.

Still, there are reasons to be optimistic. Journalism outlets — old and new — are experimenting with innovative models that will allow them to play a vital role in their communities.

The Salt Lake Tribune recently made history by becoming the first legacy newspaper in the country to convert from a for-profit company to a nonprofit. Innovative philanthropic projects like NewsMatch are helping dozens of small nonprofit news organizations raise money, build capacity and create public awareness for nonprofit news.

In 2004 I launched a small Raleigh-based digital outlet called NC Policy Watch with the goal of making sure the public had information on how policies being debated in the capitol would affect them. As the media landscape changed, so did we. We had our ups and downs as we grew from a one-person outlet to a team of eight editors, reporters and columnists who have won dozens of awards.

At the end of 2017, I left NC Policy Watch to help bring that kind of capital coverage to other states.

That effort, States Newsroom, has grown into the nation’s leading network of state-based nonprofit news outlets. While fewer than 30% of newspapers have anyone assigned to cover their statehouses, we’re filling this gap by delivering hard-hitting reporting and insightful commentary to shine a spotlight on state government decision-making and ensure those in power are being held accountable for the impacts that their decisions have on communities.

In just the last year we’ve grown from 9 to 15 outlets, added a Washington, DC, bureau and now have almost 60 reporters, editors and support staff.

In the coming years, we plan to bring our model to more than 20 states. Our goal is to ensure that no matter who you are or where you live, you have access to high-quality, non-partisan reporting on the crucial issues being debated and discussed in your statehouse.

We are different from virtually every other news organization — for-profit or nonprofit. We don’t run ads of any kind. We don’t accept corporate donations or underwriting, and we don’t charge readers for content or partners who publish our work on their platforms. We are funded by philanthropic institutions and small donors alike.

We’re growing at a time when many news organizations are divesting from vital state coverage.

We certainly don’t have all the answers and can’t fill all the gaps created by the decimation of newsrooms nationwide, but solutions are out there. We will continue to experiment with models that haven’t been tried before while maintaining the highest journalistic standards.

We cannot let important stories in state capitals go untold — especially now — when so much is at stake in our democracy.

By Chris Fitzsimon, Director and Publisher of States Newsroom