As Gov. Spencer Cox considers how to alleviate the harms of social media, he might mull a surprising idea from an unusual quarter. Pope Francis argued that good journalism, of all things, could “help to build communion, to make us feel less alone, to rediscover the importance of walking together.”
Really? Can stories about the Fremont High Silverwolves or Coalville’s new wastewater treatment plant cure the info-rot that produces virulent online hate speech, mass shooters and assassins? Not by itself, of course; but at a moment when solutions to these challenges seem elusive, the evidence is growing that more robust community news can help counter division, polarization and the demonization of each other.
Later in this piece, I’ll offer a proposal to levy a “mitigation fee” on Big Tech companies to fund both teen mental health and a revival of local news. Gov. Cox is already leading the national conversation about civility and social media. Through this approach, he and the state legislature can also lead the way on one of the least understood but most significant facets of the crisis.
But first it’s important to fully absorb just how severe the local news collapse has been. In 2002, there were 40 local journalists per 100,000 residents in the U.S. This year, Utah has just 10 journalists per 100,000 people, a 75 percent drop, according to a study by MuckRack and Rebuild Local News. Seventeen counties in Utah are below the already-much-too-low national average of the number of local reporters.
Studies have shown that the vacuum created by the local news contraction is filled by national news and social media, which are both more polarizing. “When local media disappears, nonpartisan identity weakens, and divisive national news fills the void,” explains Professor Joshua Darr of Syracuse University.
Partisan or ideological news helps fuel the “perception gap,” the notion that Americans believe that the other side is more extreme than they actually are. People were more than twice as likely to misunderstand other Americans’ views if they watched or read partisan outlets and talk radio rather than local news.
The decline of local news even appears to discourage residents from breaking out of their isolation and participating in face-to-face activities. After newspapers in Seattle and Denver shut, there was a significant drop in the likelihood that people would volunteer in the PTA, the American Legion, a neighborhood watch or other civic organizations.
Better local coverage should certainly include more information about local elections and government, better equipping Utah residents to address their own problems. Accountability reporting is essential, too; it leads to less corruption and even lower taxes. And Utah news outlets have already modelled how to do “solutions journalism,” through an unusual collaboration of 19 newsrooms that joined together to cover the Great Salt Lake’s travails.
But even lighter human interest stories can help. The latest church project, an obituary about an inspirational firefighter, the surprise girls basketball star — stories like these show neighbors to be three-dimensional humans.
Local news outlets must view themselves not only as publishers or broadcasters but as community institutions — not only covering community events but creating them. “What if the highest and best use of local newsrooms at this fractious, fragile moment is to help residents join and start local clubs and associations?” asks Jennifer Brandel, co-founder of Hearken, a group that helps local news organizations innovate.
You might be wondering: why did local news collapse? The short answer is the internet. The advertising dollars that used to support local news went to Facebook, Google and other tech companies.
Which brings us back to a possible solution: the Legislature could enact a fee on the biggest tech companies to “mitigate” or help repair some of the damage they’ve created.
Some proceeds could reimburse the state for what it has to spend on online safety and teen well-being. It could end the shortage of mental health counselors in Utah’s schools, could provide digital literacy curricula, fund more investigators and prosecutors of online crimes against children, and other ideas recommended by The Utah Behavioral Health Commission.
The other half of the proceeds could help revive Utah’s community media in a First Amendment-friendly way. One idea: the state could provide tax credits for restaurants, hardware stores and other small businesses that advertise in local news.
This two-fer policy would help both small businesses struggling to deal with high costs and the local news outlets, which can lure back some audience from social media. And it doesn’t involve the government picking winners and losers.
The problems we face go deep, and will require many creative efforts. This idea is not a panacea. But it’s a concrete step away from what Gov. Cox has called “a dark path” toward building back a sense of community.
Steven Waldman is president of Rebuild Local News, which advocates for public policies to strengthen community news. He is also co-founder of Report for America.
Steven Waldman is president of Rebuild Local News, which advocates for public policies to strengthen community news. He is also co-founder of Report for America.
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