Local, community journalism is the bulwark of democracy

Knowing what to believe these days can be a challenge.

From AI-generated images and text to blatant disinformation from political campaigns and foreign governments, the number of scams, spoofs and charlatans seems to be never-ending.

However, there are those who continue to stand against the tide of false information, men and women who will continue to seek truth and report it, without fear or favor.

I recently worked with some of these people to highlight the importance of local news, during the April 29 forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Skagit County.

“We offer these community meetings on topics of civic interest because we believe that encouraging active engagement and informed decision-making are fundamental to democracy,” said League organizer Wende Sanderson.

During the forum, Skagit Valley College librarians Elena Bianco and Libby Sullivan shared tips on how not to be fooled by misinformation, fake news and more.

Following their presentation, I spoke about how local journalism plays a key role in protecting our democracy.

Now, more than ever, local journalism helps communities determine what is happening around them, who is responsible for it, how it’s being paid for, and what impact it’s having on the area.

Without local news, democracy suffers. Research shows that when a local newspaper disappears, voter turnout drops by a significant amount.

Not only that, but when there’s no local news source, political races are dominated by incumbents running unopposed, and one party holding offices without giving voters an alternative.

That’s because without reporters attending city council and school board meetings, it’s more difficult for a community to keep track of who is in office, what policies they have supported or what has been accomplished.

A less informed community is a less empowered community.

Local news gives people a voice, whether that’s by championing those who are making the world better, or spotlighting those who have committed crimes or other unethical or immoral behavior.

Furthermore, a local newspaper gives the community a direct forum to share their thoughts on topics that are important to them, or to make a call to action for others to get involved.

Without local reporters asking questions and holding those in power accountable, government spending and malfeasance also increase, research shows.

And unlike the national media, local news has a high level of trust with its audience, and for good reason. Like I said at the forum, I live here; I care about this community and want my neighbors to be informed.

And while we may make mistakes, we admit when we are wrong, publish a correction and work to understand how we made the error so we can correct the process and reduce errors in the future.

An attendee asked how to prevent access to local information from disappearing when a news source does close its doors, to which I gave my honest response: I don’t know.

My answer would be to protect your local paper before it’s too late. By supporting local media, you are supporting democracy and helping ensure voters will continue to be informed and have more choices when they cast their ballots.

Andrew Paxton became executive editor of the Skagit Valley Herald and Anacortes American in July 2023.