Part 4 of “The Cost of Doing Nothing” - Fund Local Journalism
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If You Don’t Pay for Truth, You Pay for Chaos
There was a time when every city council meeting, school board vote, and budget proposal had a reporter in the room. Not because it was glamorous—but because someone needed to keep watch. That was the role of local journalism: the quiet watchdog making sure decisions were made in the light of day.
But today, many of those newsrooms are gone. Shrinking ad revenue and the rise of free digital content gutted local papers. Hedge funds bought what was left, stripped them for parts, and left ghost publications behind.
And into that vacuum rushed social media—faster, louder, and rarely accountable. But Facebook doesn’t report on your school district’s budget hearing. TikTok won’t tell you when your mayor quietly signs a zoning change that affects your property taxes. Twitter doesn’t sit through six-hour planning commission meetings.
When no one is watching, the powerful get reckless. Corruption grows in the dark. Misinformation fills the void. And democracy starts to wobble.
If we want to keep self-government intact, we need to fund the people who shine the light.
Subscribe. Donate. Share real reporting.
Local truth is not free. But the cost of losing it is far greater.
