As 2024 continues, the press is still under attack here in the middle of the map.
The Wichita City Council recently decided to replace The Wichita Eagle with its own website as the city’s official newspaper. The council claims this saves taxpayers $120,000 annually. But at what cost?
The move should act as a wake-up call to everyone who cares about local democracy — and who appreciates that it withers without robust news media.
Governments are required by law to alert the people they serve about public hearings, zoning changes, bid solicitations, budget summaries and other important civic functions.
Traditionally, those legal notices and public records have appeared in local newspapers. That’s still where people expect to find them.
Many smaller newspapers rely on legal ads from cities and counties to turn a profit. For some, it’s the only real revenue left.
Local papers struggle to stay afloat with advertising money increasingly diverted to tech giants such as Google and Meta. That’s partly why we’re losing more than two newspapers a week in this country.
Our leaders should see that as a signal that a critical intervention is needed — while there’s still a local media ecosystem left to save.
Still, hope remains. I lead a new kind of digital news organization funded by large philanthropies. Those organizations are starting to think of local news more like the publicly funded institutions our communities built. Think of our local libraries and the symphony. We cover critical local subjects such as health, education and local government, and then make our stories free to readers and available for other publishers to give to their audiences.
No single strategy can save a small-town newspaper, or strengthen a metropolitan daily. We need a combination of creative ideas to support local journalism.
One promising idea is the Community News and Small Business Support Act introduced in the U.S. House.
It would subsidize journalism with tax credits that encourage small businesses to advertise in local news publications and help those organizations pay reporters.
Out of necessity, publishers are coming together like never before. It’s a seismic shift in how we’ve worked, and now we’re reducing redundancy and supporting one another.
For example, we at The Beacon are part of the Kansas City Media Collective and the Wichita Journalism Collaborative. We’re working on projects such as producing the most comprehensive election guide ahead of 2024 that this city has ever seen by dividing up the reporting responsibilities for the races.
However, these collaborations alone are not enough.
