“How Can We Save Local Media?” About 60 members and guests listened and weighed in on the question at the Hilton Naples luncheon meeting Nov. 8.
Experts who spoke included Roshni Neslage of the American Journalism Project, headquartered in Washington, D.C., and panelists Tom Doerr, director of local news and content for Fort Myers Broadcasting Company; Jim Schwartzel, president of Sun Broadcasting and Gulfshore Life Media; Wendy Fullerton Powell, executive editor of the Naples Daily News and Florida regional editor for the USA Today Network; and Corey Lewis, general manager of WGCU Public Media, Southwest Florida’s PBS and NPR station.
Answers to the question centered around support, whether the vehicle for bolstering and maintaining news in deserts or areas under threat of the same was philanthropic or by grant.
Neslage, a reporter from Miami now head of communications for the American Journalism Project, spoke about the organization’s record of bolstering news organizations where they are needed. The point is building local journalism as a public good through a model she described as more like those funding museums and libraries.
Whatever the solution, local news was determined both the crisis and the way forward in news.
According to Neslage and her organization, in news deserts, voters become more polarized and less likely to vote beyond the one party to which they’ve been loyal. Officials drive up wages and taxes when local news contains no watchdog, but the reverse is also clear when local news is strong.
Corey Lewis of WGCU stressed that the philanthropic model sustains and has worked for public media, where “we’re all about civility” and that has proven true among donors who support that notion.
Local news may be more important here than anywhere else in the country, said Wendy Fullerton Powell of the Naples Daily News and USA Today. She noted that grant-funded positions are popping up in newsrooms. Her company just created a position for a national director of philanthropy.
One of the biggest issues now is re-educating the public on the importance of independent journalism, said Tom Doerr of Fort Myers Broadcasting and Gulfshore Life. He cited other obstacles, including recent challenges to open records regulations. It’s also hard to navigate an environment in which the traditional boundaries of journalism – differentiating among news, analysis and commentary; or editorial or op-ed, for instance – are not well understood by the public.
Jim Schwartzel of Sun Broadcasting and Gulfshore Life noted that the company’s goal remains local content yet the digital space is still challenging in profitability.
A question-and-answer session moderated by Bob Orr, retired national correspondent for CBS News, wrapped up the event.
Watch your inbox for details about the club’s Dec. 8 luncheon and annual meeting being held at the Hilton Naples.
Dayna Harpster has worked full time in journalism for 38 years – at weeklies, monthlies, and mostly dailies, including the Times-Picayune in New Orleans and the News-Press in Fort Myers. She was the editor for Expressions magazine for WGCU Public Media and now works as a communications specialist with the PBS station. She also teaches journalism classes for Florida Gulf Coast University.