Letter to the Editor
This is a love letter, of sorts, one motivated by loss. In little more than a decade, the United States has lost one-third of its print newspapers and two-thirds of its newspaper journalists. A recent study from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism found that during 2023 alone the demise of local newspapers reached an average of 2.5 per week, leaving over 200 counties across America with very limited or no access at all to local news.
Another way to parse the numbers is that out of the nation’s 3,143 counties, 1,562 (more than half) have only a single paper and 204 counties have no local news outlet at all — imagine all of Litchfield County without a single local newspaper.
Most areas that lose papers do not get a print or digital replacement, creating “news deserts,” information voids that are quickly filled by hearsay and misinformation.
Why is local news so important? The isolation of the pandemic revealed the extent to which people believe there’s an urgent need to know what is going on in their communities. Taxpayers care about what happens where they live. They want a voice in how decisions are made. When a newspaper folds it diminishes a community’s ability to learn about issues, consider options and make informed choices, a process that operates like a glue to help hold a town together.
The purpose of local news isn’t merely to report on city council or school board meetings, though these are important. Local news provides a forum through which residents can gather facts, expand their understanding and express their views, which boosts civic engagement. Equally significant, with broad and balanced coverage, local news can elevate voices that are neither rich nor powerful yet vital and frequently overlooked.
When there’s no stimulus for conversation or discussion about local economic or social issues, people tend to retreat and disengage. The result? A less informed, less well-read community often marked by rigid views and political polarization.
Which explains my affection for The Goshen News. This miniscule crew provides an invaluable service with an optimism and commitment to professionalism that deserves applause. It’s no small feat to turn out a paper every month, reliably and on time. So, when someone recently wrote to me on Nextdoor.com that they only listen to what people say about local issues and never read what anyone writes because media outlets are biased, I shuddered.
It’s true there is bias among journalists, as the Fox News firing of Tucker Carlson so glaringly revealed. In recent years many media sources have embraced a model driven by financial profit, bypassing the faith their audience places in them and presenting opinions as facts.
Serious journalists, however, adhere to a code of professional conduct whose objective is independent, unbiased reporting. Unlike bloggers, influencers or social media sources, responsible journalism places the truth—the probing, skeptical search for the truth—above all else. It asks that we see the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. Journalists are deeply aware that without a commitment to truthful reporting they have no credibility, and therefore no right to be trusted by their readers.
It takes effort to stay open, ask thoughtful questions and synthesize new information, especially when it does not align with our personal views. Which is why The Goshen News is both the tonic and the balm we need at a moment, when accurate, unbiased information is critical to our ability to meet the challenges that lie ahead, and build the community we yearn for. Please read, contribute and support local news everywhere.
Leslie Sherr
Goshen
