We Love (and Need) Our Hometown Newspapers!

The League of Women Voters of Washington recently conducted a study on the relationship between local journalism and democracy. Why? Perhaps their members were alarmed by how many local newspapers are either closing, moving online, consolidating, or changing focus with changing ownership. Or, perhaps they spotted growing number of "news deserts"  - communities with no local journalism.

We are fortunate in our South Central Texas area to have local newspapers in almost every community. Several of these papers have been recognized as outstanding small town newspapers!

Recognzing the essential contribution that these papers and vibrant local journalism play in a healthy local civic culture and democracy, our League has identified "Local News & Democracy" as a priority area for 2024-2025. We intend to begin with our own study of the local journalism environment here in South Central Texas, with the intent to better understand how our local papers are faring, what they need to maintain or improve their service to our communities, and what we and others can do to support their contribution to our civic culture and democracy. 

Our hope is that as we get a clearer picture of our South Central Texas local journalism scene, some practical ideas will begin to take root so that we can ensure that South Central Texas wil not ever be on the list of communities identified as "news deserts."

We are now building a team of League members and friends who are interested in joining us in this exploration. If you would like to be part of this effort, let us know by checking the Local News & Democracy box here!