We need a ‘Marshall Plan’ for public media

(Other Words) – America’s media institutions have had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad start to 2024. The Messenger, a well-funded, high-profile news site, dissolved after less than a year. Big newspapers from the Los Angeles Times to the IndyStar saw major layoffs. And Sports Illustrated fell into licensing limbo while sites like BuzzFeed, Vice News or Complex found themselves at best on life support. The over 500 media jobs eliminated so far this year reflect a broader, worrying trend. By this year’s end, according to one recent estimate, America will have lost one third of all its newspapers – and two-thirds of all its newspaper staff – since 2005. Related Stories The losses have been particularly acute in poor and rural communities, leaving ever expanding news deserts all across the nation. The collapse of news outlets, especially local papers, is robbing our communities of indispensable watch dogs. The disappearance of reporters from city council meetings and public safety hearings is creating oversight vacuums that leave citizens in the dark and enable shady dealings that let the wealthy exercise undue and undetected influence. How did a country once chock-full of influential newspapers morph into a land of news deserts?...