For years, those of us in the newspaper industry have been warning that when a community loses its local newspaper, it loses a part of itself.
It loses the reporter sitting quietly in the gallery at the city commission meeting. It loses the seasoned writer chronicling a state championship season. It loses the storyteller who captures the lives of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It loses the watchdog keeping an eye on city hall, the county courthouse and the school administration building.
Most of all, it loses a common thread — that force that connects neighbors to one another and binds a town together.
Critics dismiss these arguments as sentimental drivel from an industry fighting to survive.
Fast forward to now, because now, there is hard evidence that losing local news costs communities something far more tangible than their sense of connection. It costs them money — real money — like get out your checkbook money.
A new report by finance professor Dermot Murphy of the University of Illinois Chicago indicates that America's increasing shortage of local news coverage is costing taxpayers roughly $1.1 billion annually in higher borrowing costs for local governments.
Think about that for a moment. $1.1 billion is a substantial amount. When local newspapers disappear or cutbacks reduce newsrooms to skeleton crews, fewer, if any people are watching. Fewer, if any reporters attend meetings. Fewer, if any public records are reviewed. Fewer questions are asked. Fewer decisions are scrutinized.
The report found that lenders recognize this reality.
The evidence Murphy found is that communities with active local news coverage tend to have better transparency and oversight. Investors know there are reporters attending meetings, reviewing budgets, reporting controversies, and generally shining light on local government actions.
Communities without strong local news coverage are viewed as riskier investments, and that risk is reflected in higher interest rates when cities, counties and school districts borrow money through municipal bonds.
In other words, when no one is watching, taxpayers pay.
Every town deserves a newspaper — not because newspapers are nostalgic, not because they have been around for more than a century and not because those of us who publish them would like to keep doing so.
Every town deserves a newspaper because communities function better when citizens are told the truth about what is happening around them. They make better decisions. They hold leaders accountable. They celebrate one another's successes. They rally together during hardship. They remember where they came from and better understand where they are going.
The next time you see your local newspaper sitting in a rack at the convenience store, waiting in your mailbox, resting on your doorstep, or arriving in your inbox, remember that you are looking at more than ink on paper.
You are looking at a record of your community, a watchdog standing guard over your tax dollars, the first draft of today’s chapter of your town's history.
Spend the dollar. Pick up a copy. Subscribe. Renew. Read.
Support the businesses that support your local newspaper, and if you own a business, consider advertising in it. Every advertisement, every subscription and every newspaper purchased helps ensure that the stories of this community continue to be told and that those entrusted with public funds continue to be held accountable.
Because when a newspaper disappears, a town loses more than headlines. It loses its memory, its accountability, its identity.
And as this new research demonstrates, it could even lose money.
That's a price no community should be willing to pay.
Figure out a way to support your local paper.