It’s said that California has lost one-third of its newspapers since 2005. One county, out of the total of 58 in California, has no local news outlets, while 18 have just one. Local leaders say the decline in reliable local news coverage has hampered their mission, damaged community trust, and fueled misinformation.
As regular news coverage drops in communities across the State, one might think that there is some relief without the intense spotlight previously placed on the inner workings and problems in local government staying behind closed doors. But by and large, that just isn’t the case.
“News coverage engenders trust in your government,” as one California Mayor has been quoted. “There’s this trope that all government is corrupt, right? Well, if we had reporters digging into that, people would see that we’re not corrupt, that in fact, we are working for them.”
The result is lower community engagement and trust in one another and the agencies themselves, local officials say. A council person in Nor Cal stated, “when you don’t have trustworthy news about your community, that sense of community, that we are there for each other, is missing,”
With this as the background, it is more important than ever to reach out and proactively engage your communities, inform the population, and work towards an informed and better place.