The Plymouth Independent began publishing just over a year ago to fill a hole left by the decline of the once-robust Old Colony Memorial. The OCM had covered the town since the 1820s. That coverage eroded and then vanished under the ownership of the out-of-state chain Gannett. Today, it is one of many “ghost papers” across the country, publications that have become hollowed out shells devoid of legitimate reporting. It’s led to wide swaths of the U.S. no longer having any local news coverage.
In this in-depth piece for the Northwestern University/Medill School of Journalism’s Local News Initiative, Mark Caro writes about the growing importance of nonprofit news organizations, and the imposing financial challenges they face. As part of his exhaustive reporting, Caro visited Plymouth, and his story prominently features the Independent.
We’re linking to it here to provide readers with a wider perspective on the mission of nonprofit local news organizations. We hope you find the piece enlightening and consider it a call to action. We need your consistent support to become sustainable and to grow our small staff. If Caro’s story – which is also posted on the Poynter Institute’s website – inspires you to donate to us, please do so here. Thank you in advance.