By Richard Watts and Meg Little Reilly
Editor’s note: Richard Watts is the director of the Center for Research on Vermont, and Meg Little Reilly is a Vermont writer and editor with the Community News Service (a program which pairs college students work with professional editors to write news stories for local papers around Vermont.)
With needed attention now focused on the nation’s physical infrastructure, crumbling bridges, collapsing transit systems, hospitals and more, just as much attention needs to be paid to the nation’s civic infrastructure. And Vermont can lead the way.
New funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 will explicitly invest in state improvements in water, sewer and broadband, with additional funding for more discretionary spending for the public benefit.
Vermont should seize this opportunity to invest in its civic infrastructure, starting with local media.
Civic infrastructure can be understood as the processes and practices that build trust in communities and bind us to one another — and it can’t be done without local news. Healthy democracies require reliable sources of local information and government accountability (as this pandemic has demonstrated). A strong civic infrastructure can produce measurable returns for the well-being of Vermonters. Social cohesion, ease and effectiveness of governance, and civic participation all increase with the presence of local journalism.
The benefits are as economic as they are social.
Research demonstrates that local news can be highly generative. And in a state economy that relies so heavily on our rich cultural offerings, natural beauty and attractions, the attention that comes from ongoing coverage of our local happenings is immense.
Yet, there has been a complete collapse of local media across the country. More than 1,300 counties now lack a local media outlet and many have become “ghost” papers, shells of their former selves or advertising vehicles for national chains.
Here in Vermont, we still have almost 40 community papers, but they are in danger of collapsing, with ad revenues sucked away by Google and Facebook and struggling to survive. By one count we have lost more than 100 reporters from our newsrooms in the last 10 years. And several papers have been forced to close, reduce print days or move all-digital.
At a time when trust in public institutions is low, Vermont can be a leader for rebuilding civic connections and engagement through local news. There are creative ways to do this.
In a program called the Community News Service, college students work with professional editors to write news stories for local papers around Vermont — the students learn and engage with Vermont communities and the papers get important local content. The program is led by UVM, with funding from the university’s Office of Engagement and College of Arts & Sciences but includes students from Community College of Vermont, Northern Vermont University and Castleton University, about 20 Vermont media partners and eight professional editors [including the Mountain Times and editor Polly Mikula]. The program has also helped bring local news back, providing content statewide to local news outlets.
With more than 20,000 college students in the state, there is great opportunity to scale this model up.
A similar project (the Underground Workshop) with high school students coordinated by Ben Heintz and VTDigger is having similar success in generating content and engaging young people in reporting and storytelling.
These projects have the added benefit of engaging young people in Vermont communities, making connections, and building social networks that may keep them in Vermont.
Investments in these partnerships are also investments in the longevity of Vermont news. Research suggests that strong and sustainable new outlets are leaning into their distinct strengths today by focusing on the hyperlocal coverage and analysis that larger outlets can’t and won’t provide; building strong websites that respond to local needs; and creating regular newsletters for their subscribers.
This is a scalable model for other states. Training the next generation of fearless and ethical journalists can usher in a more civil future both a local and national level. Most importantly, it can serve as an economic, creative and social engine here in Vermont. It’s a perfect fit for a state that has always been, and can continue to be, a leader in supporting civic life and democratic engagement.
