How public media is failing local communities

Hello! Here’s what’s in this week’s issue:

→ How public media is failing local communities

→ Over 50% of journalists have considered quitting due to burnout

→ LMA announces new co-CEO

→ New nonprofit news initiative launching in Oregon

→ A proposed registry to track the US local news landscape

📰 How public media is failing local communities

Ralph Nader founded public interest group The Center for Study of Responsive Law (CSRL) released a report last week detailing the failings of both for-profit news publishers, as well as public entities like NPR.

The report points to the abysmal funding granted to public news entities - roughly 5% that of similar democracies. This leads to public media stations becoming increasingly reliant on the wealthy, or “a distinguished audience. They are educated, business decision makers that are active in their communities.”

The report also echoes the story repeated frequently in recent years: the struggles of local for-profit news publishers who are now shutting down at a rate of two per week in the US.

Read more here and here.

📰 Over 50% of journalists have considered quitting due to burnout

According to a new report, 40% of journalists have quit a previous job doe to burnout and 56% have thought about quitting this year. Less than a quarter of the 1,800 journalists surveyed had access to mental health services through an employer.

The top reasons for the stress were reported as workload, salary, and being “always on”.

On a positive note, the least impactful stressors found in the survey were journalists’ commute, colleagues, and their sources.

Unfortunately, burnout is nothing new in the local media industry. Have a listen to this recent episode of Small Press, Big Ideas to hear about how one journalist deals with it.

📰 LMA announces new co-CEO

The Local Media Association has announced that Liz White Notarangelo, former fifth-generation owner and publisher of the Record Journal in Meriden, Connecticut, will join Jay Small as co-CEO of the LMA and the Local Media Foundation.

White Notarangelo brings a distinguished background in local journalism to the new position. She has served as the second vice chair of Local Media Association, chair of the Local Media Foundation board of directors, and was a 15 year member of the LMA while running her family’s newspaper, the Record Journal.

The announcement came as a part of the LMA’s five year succession plan originally announced in 2022.

📰 New nonprofit news initiative launching in Oregon

The owner of alternative Portland news outlet the Willamette Week is launching a new nonprofit news organization this fall.

The Oregon Journalism Project will produce “the kind of data-driven and solution-seeking investigative reporting that makes a significant impact at the state and local levels” for Oregonians.

The organization was created in response to the local news crisis, which is especially pronounced in Oregon where 68% of incorporated cities lack a local news source.

The organization is currently conducting its first round of fundraising and will publish a list of donors when completed.

📰 A proposed registry to track the US local news landscape

Local news researcher Sarah Stonbely recently wrote an op-ed about the need for a collaborative registry to track local journalism in the US.

Stonbely praises the work of Press Forward’s Locals, and calls for the concept to be grown to a national level to provide a clear look at the actual state of local news ecosystems across the country.

Read the full story here.