For 151 years, Arlington residents read their local news in The Advocate (pronounced locally as “Ad-vo-cate,” with a long “a”). That ended last May, when the Gannett-owned weekly merged with the Star in Winchester. The merged paper has no dedicated reporter.
The slow slide of lessening local-news delivery linked to corporate ownership is a national issue, one that has been occurring for years. That is documented in “The State of Local News,” media research from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, which says: “Since 2005, the country has lost more than a fourth of its newspapers (2,500) and is on track to lose a third by 2025.”
To picture the situation, scroll down to the national map labeled, “How many newspapers near you?”
All local news is not lost
Learn how “news deserts” nationally rob readers of information crucial to democracy. But keep reading, and you find out that all local news is not lost.
Consider this from the report: “Two decades after the collapse of the for-profit business model that sustained local newspapers — and local news — in the 20th century, new for-profit, nonprofit and hybrid models are gaining traction in many communities. As a result, there is not one dominant business model for local news, but many, depending on the community where the news organization is located and the objectives of the owners.”
YourArlington, established in 2006, is part of this emerging trend. The site became a nonprofit in 2021 and has bright prospects for 2023 and beyond. Its staff includes five reporters, an on-call feature writer and a restuarant reviewer.
Sustained by local donors, and hoping for further underwriting and grants, the digital-only site aims to bring Arlington news and opinion to keep residents informed. In 2023, look for:
- More in-depth reports, like the one about school nurses >>
- Improvements to how you find information on the site;
- More opportunities for the public to post news to the site directly; and
- A new editor by midyear (I’m retiring but will remain connected to the site).
A national connection
Since 2014, YourArlington has been a member of LION Publishers. The letters stand for local independent online news. The group represents more than 400 websites like YourArlington in U.S. and Canada. It educates members and the public about the impact local news sites can have.In a recent newsletter, LION looks ahead to 2023. 
It’s that special time of year again.
We’re talking, of course, about Nieman Lab prediction season, when all our hopes and dreams for the industry seem a little closer to becoming reality.
To close out 2022, here are a couple Nieman Lab predictions of our own, plus other optimistic visions for the future of independent local news from LION members, coaches, audit analysts, and partners:
1. Independent news businesses lead the way on healthy work cultures. “Our industry is going to need more leaders who understand how to operationalize healthy newsroom cultures — whether that’s with brand-new roles or sourcing fractional support to create a strong foundation for leaders to build upon.” –Anika Anand, LION deputy director
-
- And this trend makes news businesses better places to work. “Creating a more supportive, communicative, and organized workplace will help retain and attract talent, which can ultimately save time and money,” –Rachel Glickhouse, News Revenue Hub
2. The independent news industry gets a roadmap to sustainability. “It’s tempting to think that the growth path for an independent news organization is consistent and linear. But after analyzing nearly 150 organizations over the last two years through LION Publishers’ Sustainability Audit process, we’ve seen this kind of “if/then” thinking doesn’t apply to the relative Wild West that is the independent news landscape.” –Lisa Heyamoto, LION programming director of membership education
3. More philanthropic funding goes to independent publishers. “It’s time for journalism philanthropy to ditch corporate media sellouts and double-down on supporting and expanding the non-commercial journalism sector.” –Simon Galperin, Bloomfield Info Project
4. The future of local news is built from the ground up. “Many of us who work in local news have lost patience with looking backwards and are working instead to envision and help build healthy and resilient local civic information infrastructure.” –Sarah Alvarez, Outlier Media
5. The pioneers of digital news give a leg up to the next generation. “Maybe Boomers like me can leverage our experience to clean up some of the mess our generation created.” –John Davidow, Media Bridge Partners
6. Entrepreneurship sparks a revival of local news. “Instead of large-scale journalism providers based in far-off places with little connection to communities outside of the people they employ, the pivot toward independent news outlets has increased.” –Don Day, BoiseDev
7. Rural and suburban publishers fill a huge gap, if philanthropy invests in them. “Small communities don’t want pity. Pity is where narcissism goes to vacation. They want — and require — capital.” –Amethyst J. Davis, Harvey World Herald
8. Journalism discovers new ways it can provide value to people. “In 2023, we will become deeply curious about our audience members. We’ll research not just how and why people read and listen to our journalism, but how they spend their days, what they’re trying to accomplish, and what kind of information they are seeking, either knowingly or unknowingly.” –Ariel Zirulnick, KPCC/LAist
9. News leaders get serious about mental health and work-life balance. “In a time when it feels like so much of our world is upside down, the work ahead needs to include supporting the whole person in the workplace and ensuring we have the energy, joy, and spirit to show up fully.” –An Xiao Mina, independent coach and consultant
10. Product managers help make news businesses more sustainable. “Organizations will realize that they need formal product managers — and even full-fledged news product teams — to connect the work they’re doing in the newsroom with the audience, technology, and revenue strategy.” –Felicitas Carrique and Becca Aaronson, News Product Alliance
11. Civic-minded publishers team up to scale their impact. “There’s a growing awareness that our readers are better served when we pool resources and tackle topics of public interest.” –Larry Ryckman, The Colorado Sun
May 11, 2022: Firsthand perspective: What has happened to your local newspaper? You can help
June 2022: The State of Local News (reported by Northwestern University)
This opinion column was published Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022.
For creating and maintaining YourArlington for years (despite the cheap shots taken by many naysayers), for creating an alternative to the Advocate (which, over years, ceased being a newspaper long before it ceased publication), for clearly stating why local news is important (to preserve democracy, and to inform local citizens so that they can hold local government accountable for its actions), and for taking steps to ensure Your Arlington’s continuity beyond your tenure.
Aram Hollman