One of my biggest takeaways of 2023 has been how much national news coverage there has been about the importance  of newspapers to the community and to democracy. You can imagine, as I enter my 47th year at the River Reporter, this emphasis on the essential nature of local news is music to my ears.

The news, like much of what is going on in the world, is in a state of disruption. Despite the deep appreciation of accurate and informative local news, the reality is that there is no business model to sustain its production. What this means, in a nutshell, is that the costs of producing local news are greater than the revenue received by publishing it. This is forcing local newspapers to close, shockingly at a rate of 2.5 a week. Adding to that landscape is the reality that large corporations and hedge funds are buying up legacy papers and mining them for their subscriber base, advertisers and equipment, thereby depleting the quantity and quality of the news. 

It is in this arena that we, at the River Reporter, rededicate ourselves every day to the coverage of local news and in support of community dialog about complex issues. There is an urgency to our work. 

This year, we have had some comings and goings. In August, we bid farewell to award-winning journalist Liam Mayo’s presence in the office, (He continues to follow stories from his new haunts in Massachusetts; click here for his latest.) We welcomed new staff writer Ruby Rayner-Haselkorn, who arrived in September. And in November, we welcomed back editor Pamela Chergotis, who served as assistant editor and then editor from 1987 to 1998. These changes will allow me to be a better advocate for the paper, and to spread the news about the importance of supporting local papers, especially the River Reporter. 

Local news is imperative to a healthy functioning community. Local news reminds people of what they have in common, both their challenges and their shared identities, their shared culture, their shared community. 

John Palfrey, president of the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, said, “For local news to be sustainable over the long term, communities will need to stand up and support their local news providers. We need to invest in the news in the same way that we invest in the arts and culture, hospitals, or our alma maters.”

Newpapers help build resiliency. They give readers news they can use. And in a world that needs to come together, newspapers make manifest the interconnected web of our lives. Newspapers reflect our community stories. They reflect us all.

Here’s to a glorious 2024, and to local news.