Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Tuesday 12 March 2019

Loss of local news hinders ability to watchdog government

By MICHAEL CASEY ment decisions and giving
One of the last investiga- people a say in how those
tions Jim Boren oversaw government decisions are
before he retired as execu- made."
tive editor of The Fresno The absence of a lo-
Bee was a four-month ex- cal newspaper playing a
amination of substandard watchdog role also can
housing in the city at the translate into real costs to a
heart of California's Central community and its taxpay-
Valley. ers.
The multimedia project Researchers from the Uni-
revealed the living condi- versity of Illinois at Chicago
tions imposed on many and the University of Notre
of the city's low-income Dame found that municipal
renters, many of them im- borrowing costs increase
migrants: apartments filled after a newspaper ceases
with mold, mice and cock- publication. They found the
roaches, to name some of increase had nothing to do
the more glaring problems. Penelope Muse Abernathy, a University of North Carolina professor, stands with the daily news- with the economy. Rath-
Local housing advocates paper selection in the Park Library at the School of Journalism in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Thursday, er, the demise of a paper
compared it to the tainted March 7, 2019. leaves readers in the dark
water crisis in Flint, Michi- Associated Press and emboldens elected
gan. officials to sign off on higher
The investigation got imme- better. We changed laws," the Institute for Media and areas, often with an aging wages, larger payrolls and
diate results. said Boren, who retired in Public Trust at Fresno State population. ballooning budget deficits,
"We made people's lives 2017 and is now director of University. The loss of a reliable lo- their study found.
Among other things, the cal news source has many "Our evidence suggests
city responded by requiring consequences for the that a local government
property owners to make community. One of them is more likely to engage in
repairs when it found viola- is the inability to watchdog wasteful spending when
tions, rather than just levy the actions of government there is no local newspaper
fines. agencies and elected of- to report on that govern-
"Those are the kinds of ficials. ment," said University of Illi-
things that journalists do," Newspapers typically have nois Chicago's Dermot Mur-
Boren said. played the lead role in their phy, one of the study's au-
It's the kind of journalism — communities in holding lo- thors. "Investors find it riskier
holding local government cal officials accountable. to lend money to wasteful
officials accountable for That includes filing requests governments, and thus the
problems that affect the to get public records that costs of financing public in-
lives of real people — that shine a light on govern- frastructure projects, such
is in danger of being lost in ment action — or inaction as schools, hospitals, and
many communities around — or even filing lawsuits to roadways, for a local gov-
the country. promote transparency. ernment are higher."
Newspapers are closing "Strong newspapers have Stanford University's James
or being consolidated at been good for democ- Hamilton applies a wid-
an astounding rate, often racy, and both educators er lens to the problem of
leaving behind what re- and informers of a citizenry newspaper closures, ex-
searchers label as news and its governing officials. amining the benefits that
deserts — towns and even They have been problem- come with investigative
entire counties that have solvers," said Penelope journalism — and what is
no consistent local media Muse Abernathy, a Univer- lost when it disappears.
coverage. sity of North Carolina pro- In his book "Democracy's
According to an Associ- fessor who studies news in- Detective," he examined
ated Press analysis of data dustry trends and oversaw several case studies of
compiled by the Univer- the "news desert" report re- newspaper investigations,
sity of North Carolina, more leased last fall. including police shootings
than 1,400 towns and cit- "That is what you are miss- of civilians, and found that
ies in the U.S. have lost a ing when you don't have each dollar spent by the
newspaper over the past someone covering you news organization gener-
15 years. Many of those are and bringing transparency ated hundreds of dollars in
in rural and lower-income or sunlight onto govern- benefits to society.q