The Erosion Of The Local Voice

In one of the Google search emails we received this past week, we found a citizen crying out for what a community newspaper provides without mentioning one. He knew something was missing from an increasing number of rural communities. His concerns were published in the form of a letter in the Jacksonville (Illinois) Journal-Courier.
It highlights the loss of local civic participation and how too many today focus on national and state news.

“These are not abstract concerns; they are lived realities for rural families trying to make ends meet and provide opportunities for their children. And yet, where is the response?  Where is the organized, persistent, local advocacy that once defined grassroots politics?” Woods asks.
Grassroots politics was informed by a community newspaper. It covered the issues fundamental to citizens making informed decisions. It was essential to their being aware of what was going on in their community, so they could voice their opinions before decisions were made...“Local governance is not secondary. It is foundational,” he says. If local governance is foundational, so is local news – it is the base on which informed citizens participate in their local government.

To read more, subscribe to the Swift County Monitor News.