NORTHAMPTON — Growing up in Lynn, state Rep. Lori Ehrlich remembers reading newspapers on the North Shore and discussing the articles as part of her family’s dinnertime conversation.
“I came to really appreciate local news,” says Ehrlich, a Marblehead Democrat, whose assortment of local news sources have included the Salem News, the Lynn Item and the Beverly Citizen.
But Ehrlich has seen firsthand how changes in the print industry have led to fewer local publications providing independent information, a decline that is outlined and quantified in a report examining trends in the industry titled “The Expanding News Desert.”
Published in 2018 by Penelope Muse Abernathy, the Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics at The Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media School of Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the report details how there are a growing number of “news deserts,” communities without a newspaper, and “ghost” publications, which are newspapers that are “no longer providing residents in communities large and small with the news they needed to make informed decisions about a range of important issues that could affect their quality of life.”
“In 2004, newsroom employment and print advertising were near peak 1990s levels,” the report’s summary states. “Since then, the number of journalists employed by newspapers has been cut in half, and print advertising revenue has fallen to record low levels.”
It notes that about 2,100 local newspapers across the country, or about one-quarter of the publications, have been lost over the past 15 years, meaning more communities without any local coverage. This is also happening in Massachusetts, including this spring when GateHouse New England condensed 50 of its weekly publications into 18 regional publications. Since 2004, nearly 90 newspapers have closed or been merged, according to UNC’s School of Media and Journalism.
Ehrlich’s legislation would see what the state Legislature can do to make sure that journalism is supported, filing a bill titled “an act establishing a commission to study journalism in underserved communities.” The bill recognizes the impact on a community without a local newspaper that provides information to residents and holds those in power accountable.
“As an elected person, I see that it is having a collective impact on our democracy,” Ehrlich said of the declining number of newspapers and journalists.
As written in the bill, the commission would “conduct a comprehensive, non-binding study relative to communities underserved by local journalism in Massachusetts” and would review select topics, such as whether there is adequate press coverage, the ratio of residents to media outlets, how social media is impacting news and whether there are public policy solutions to improve the sustainability of local press business models. The commission would also determine what private and nonprofit solutions exist, as well as identify career pathways and existing or potential professional development opportunities for aspiring journalists in the state.
As envisioned, the commission would have 17 members, including appointments by the state Legislature and Gov. Charlie Baker and representatives from organizations, institutes and universities, as well as associations such as the Boston Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Asian American Journalists Association of New England.
Two hearings have been held on the bill, with the second one earlier in July packed with people who offered testimony about the struggles of doing good journalism with limited staff and low pay.
“The feedback that came in was very thoughtful and constructive,” Ehrlich said. “One thing I heard was that the commission should be larger and should include more working journalists.”
Abernathy said there are several avenues that a commission could explore and that might lead to it having a positive impact on print journalism, including examining priority areas most at risk of not having journalism, identifying fundraising opportunities to make sure there is capital to support enterprises, figuring out ways to set up partnerships and collaborations between news groups and seeking existing publishers, startups or universities to address holes in coverage.
The report cites emerging business models that are sustainable. Abernathy said she is confident that if a newspaper is located in a region with solid economic growth and has a publisher who takes a long-term view, then a newspaper can remain part of the community.
But Abernathy said that the report also documents that a for-profit model will have difficulties in economically struggling regions.
The bill is currently in the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses. Regina Noonan, chief of staff for state Rep. Edward F. Coppinger, who co-chairs the joint committee with Sen. Diana DiZoglio, said there is no timeline yet on when the bill will move out of committee.
Ehrlich said she is confident new models are being tried and that there are innovative ideas that could be pursued by the commission.
“Before it’s too late, now is the time to have that conversation — to appreciate local journalism before it’s gone,” Ehrlich said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
