The local news business took another serious blow last week.
The McClatchy chain—which was once one of the best newspaper companies in America—laid off nearly 100 journalists at several of its papers, including its flagship, The Sacramento Bee, as well as The Miami Herald.
These are just the latest reductions in an industry that has been steadily shrinking for more than two decades.
As someone twice cast from corporate media companies, I have quite a bit of sympathy for those affected.
But the old media companies that many of us were employed by will not be making a comeback.
Please help us keep local news free.
I founded East Cobb News in 2017 in response to the dearth of local news in this community, where I grew up and served as a reporter earlier in my career.
I wanted to build something, after so many years of watching local news evaporate, and make it accessible for everyone.
In so doing I chose not to put up a paywall. There are skeptics who think these sorts of things can’t be done.
But they’re wrong. They are being done, and done successfully.
Another local news publisher I admire wrote a post some years ago about “the imperative of localism and local news” that has influenced me ever since. It included a summons “to bring back locals, and bring back the direct connection and involvement in the community by the people covering the community.”
I believe that in my heart as much now as when I first read that, shortly after I left the newspaper business.
I’ve felt what I have dubbed “the power of local” in my interactions with readers and local businesses here in East Cobb.
We’re not trying just to fill the gap left behind by newspapers, but offering something meaningful and distinctive with an aim of being built to last.
While East Cobb News is a civic endeavor aimed at serving the public, it also is a local small business, and we have bills to pay that are increasing.
We don’t have any plans to put up a paywall, but we do ask readers that if they value what they get from East Cobb News, to consider making a voluntary donation.
We’re suggesting $6 a month on a recurring basis, but you can donate what you like, when you like—monthly, annual or on a one-time basis.
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- One-time donation
Your donation—continued or new—will help keep East Cobb News strong, free and independent for years to come.
For just a few dollars a month, your support will help sustain local journalism—right here in East Cobb.
We’re asking you to take a moment now to consider supporting East Cobb’s only daily local news source—one that for the last nine years gives you the local news that you love.
Click the box below to indicate your donation amount today.
Thank you for your support! And long live local news!
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