I came across an interesting article in the South Carolina Press Association bulletin recently that really made me think about the role local news plays in our communities.
The article highlighted research suggesting that communities with less local news coverage can actually end up paying more in borrowing costs for public projects because there is less independent information available about how local governments operate.
Y'all—the estimated impact nationwide is more than $1 billion a year.
Whether every dollar of that estimate proves accurate isn't really what stayed with me. What stuck with me was the bigger idea: local journalism has value in ways most of us don't often think about.
When people think about a local newspaper, they usually think about high school sports, community events, business openings, obituaries and stories about local people. Those are the stories that help us celebrate our neighbors and stay connected to our community.
But local journalism also creates a public record.
It documents how decisions are made, how tax dollars are spent and what our elected officials are doing. It helps explain not just what happened, but why it happened.
As someone who spends a lot of evenings sitting through county council, school board and city council meetings, I found that article encouraging.
I'll let you in on a little secret: most of those meetings aren't particularly exciting.
There usually isn't shouting. There aren't dramatic confrontations. More often than not, it's discussion about budgets, contracts, ordinances and policies. On the surface, those topics can seem routine.
But they're not.
Those are the decisions that determine how our communities grow, how our schools operate, how emergency services are funded and how your tax dollars are spent. They may not make national headlines, but they affect our daily lives.
Sometimes local news can feel like a small thing in a world dominated by national headlines, breaking news alerts and social media.
But somebody still needs to be in those rooms.
Somebody needs to ask questions. Somebody needs to take notes. Somebody needs to explain what happened to the people who had to work late, coach ball, cook dinner or simply couldn't be there.
Social media has become an incredible way to share information, but it doesn't replace independent reporting. A Facebook post might tell you what someone thinks happened. A news story should tell you what actually happened, provide context and give you the information you need to make up your own mind.
That's the difference.
I don't expect everyone to read every county council story or school board recap. Honestly, I don't read every story in every newspaper either.
But I do hope people understand why someone should be there to cover those meetings.
Because local journalism isn't just about filling pages in a newspaper or posting stories online.
It's about making sure the public has a seat at the table, even when they can't be in the room themselves.
After reading that article, I was reminded that local news isn't just a business. It's part of the infrastructure of a healthy community.
And that's something worth investing in.
Editor's note: The research that inspired this column was published by Rebuild Local News. You can read the article, "Local news shortage leads to $1.1 billion in extra borrowing costs for local governments and taxpayers," here: https://www.rebuildlocalnews.org/local-news-shortage-leads-to-1-1-billion-in-extra-borrowing-costs-for-local-governments-and-taxpayers/
