We need a 'Marshall Plan' for public media

We need a ‘Marshall Plan’ for public media
Local news is too important for our democracy to live and die by ad dollars or fundraising

CHRIS MILLS RODRIGO
APRIL 11, 2024 3:33 AM


(Michigan Advance) America’s media institutions have had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad start to 2024.

The Messenger, a well-funded, high-profile news site, dissolved after less than a year. Big newspapers from the Los Angeles Times to the IndyStar saw major layoffs. And Sports Illustrated fell into licensing limbo while sites like BuzzFeed, Vice News or Complex found themselves at best on life support.

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The losses have been particularly acute in poor and rural communities, leaving ever expanding news deserts all across the nation.The collapse of news outlets, especially local papers, is robbing our communities of indispensable watch dogs. The disappearance of reporters from city council meetings and public safety hearings is creating oversight vacuums that leave citizens in the dark and enable shady dealings that let the wealthy exercise undue — and undetected — influence.

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Given all this, some experts are calling for a fundamental rethinking of how we value journalism.

“The information produced by journalism should always be — and should have always been — treated as a public good,” Victor Pickard told me. “And that, by its very nature, is not something that’s easily monetized.” ................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/04/11/we-need-a-marshall-plan-for-public-media/