NEW YORK — Yesterday, The New York Times published an article titled, The Rebirth of Local Journalism, in its The Morning newsletter. The article set out to “highlight some of the best work from news outlets across the U.S.” .
We are thrilled that one of our articles, Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds in Old Lyme to Close Permanently at End of Year, was included in their extended list of “Local Journalism worth Reading.” Click on the ‘More examples …’ link to find us.
We also note with great pride that LymeLine.com was one of only two Connecticut local journalism publications included in the NYT list. The other one was the CTMirror.
The article by the staff of The Morning opens with the statement, “Many of this country’s biggest problems are devilishly hard to solve. The decline of local news may be different.” It continues, “That decline is certainly a problem. Hundreds of newspapers have closed in recent years, leaving many communities without any source of local news.” but points out, “… replacing yesterday’s newspapers with 21st century digital news publications may be more feasible than it once seemed.”
Read the full article to appreciate the argument the NYT writers make as to why local journalism is so important and should be supported..
They conclude, “We hope you find this work [all the articles listed] as delightful as we did. We also hope you’ll consider supporting a local news organization in your community through a subscription or donation. Find one whose work you admire, and then help them do their work strengthening your community.”
We thank the NY Times sincerely for highlighting the value of community journalism and recognizing us as “Local Journalism worth Reading.”
A reader in Kensington, Md. read the NYT article and sent us this thoughtful commentary, “I think this NYT article helps me express why local journalism is so needed and how it’s a slog, its business model is kinda off-centered, but it’s also so special to people.”
He adds, ” So, the people involved in its publication are devoted, scrappy, and doing a serious public good, working lots of odd hours. I feel that a major motivator has to be a love of the community. Nyt’s featuring those articles also articulates, to me, how local small stuff can be more fun, funny, interesting, poignant, and can uncover mini conspiracies or nefarious stuff in a way that regional and National news can’t.”
Thanks, Ben, for putting into such clear words why we do this, which to be honest, we sometimes question. We are “scrappy” and certainly do “work lots of odd hours,” but it definitely is “a love of community” that drives us.
If you would care to donate to support our work in our 20th year of continuous publication, here is the link. We welcome one-time donations or monthly subscriptions and are, as always, deeply appreciative of all those readers, who have already supported us in either of those ways over the years.
