One Invaluable Action for This Moment
How many journalists does it take to change a lightbulb? the old joke goes. Journalists just report the facts, they don't change them.
At first glance, this joke doesn't age well. Much of the media seems to treat facts like Play-Do: highly pliable. Except nowadays, much of the media isn't journalism. It's opining or commentary, takes on the news or conversation with an agenda – all of which is allowed, and some of which I quite enjoy. But calling it journalism is like calling a hot tub a body of water.
There is still some shoe leather reporting out there. And if you're ready to take some action, here's an easy one that will be relevant no matter what continues to emerge from election returns. Subscribe to your local paper, if you still have one that's independently owned. And if you already get the local paper, brava! Perhaps you can join me in giving subscriptions for the holidays.
Journalism keeps watch on the powerful, as Professor Michael Schudson put it. The best way to hold politicians accountable is to outsource that work to journalists. In America, we get to have a say in how we're governed and good journalism makes the workings of government transparent.
Every serious politician I know skims the daily rags and their morning clips, a compilation of the press hits they got in the last 24 hours. They care about how they're being covered, especially in their home district where their voters live - which makes local journalism singularly important.
But in this media landscape, does journalism still matter? Let's answer that with two stories.
Story 1: A week before the election, one of the local Maine papers reported that a Republican state legislator in a ruby red district Democrats never win had been charged with assaulting his wife. That legislator is now tied vote for vote with a progressive Democrat, heading for a recount.
The point isn't one party besting another; if it had been a Democratic state legislator charged in a deep blue district, the GOP candidate could now be tied vote for vote. The point is that sunlight is the best disinfectant.
Story 2: Back in 2018, the 45th President rescinded family separation policies at the border in no small part due to bad headlines.
So yes, journalism still matters. It has no agenda but the truth.
It's no secret that this Wild West media landscape is choking journalism out. The number of full-time statehouse journalists has dropped 34% since 2014. And these full-timers are just the pros we need. It takes a good while to learn how legislatures work; to build rapport with politicians, staff, lobbyists; to be able to separate the significant from the sound for the readers.
If the last thing you want is more news, I hear you. Fortunately, local journalism tends to move at a fairly human clip. Political coverage comes alongside stories about the new coal-fired pizzeria opening, Tuesday's weather, the gardening column that reminds you when to prune back the lilacs (right after they've finished blooming). In other words, the local paper can be a great community resource, as well as a civic one.
I just got a reminder from Delta Dental to re-up with them; we have insurance so it's there when we need it. Investing in the paper now - even if we mostly read the Sunday movie and book reviews - means the paper will also be there when we need it.