The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified many problems in our country. One of the most glaring is the disappearance of local journalism. While people are increasingly turning to local journalists for information on how the pandemic is impacting their communities, advertisers are cutting their budgets to account for an economy in rapid decline. This means newspapers that were struggling to get by now face the prospect of being shuttered entirely.
I spent the last year in Iowa working as Iowa Communications Director for Pete Buttigieg, a role in which I worked closely with local journalists across the state. And I can tell you firsthand, the impact of losing local journalism would be devastating for our democracy and civil discourse for generations to come.
Get the complete editorial in the May 28 Advance.