ONLINE: Conversations about Democracy: Does Local Journalism Matter?

media release: How do you get your local news? If you are anything like us at Wisconsin Humanities, it is a mix of sources and voices. Local journalism is an important part of the mix…but it’s not quite as simple as it sounds.  

Did you know that in recent decades, many of Wisconsin’s newspapers have closed or been swallowed up by large media conglomerates? Part of this process leads to reducing staff size, which leads to less coverage of local issues. This has had a real impact on communities.

Our problems do have solutions. All this week, stories from five of Wisconsin's local journalists are featured on the Love Wisconsin Facebook page and website. 

In addition to sharing these important stories, we are hosting a special Facebook LIVE event: Conversations about Democracy: Does local journalism matter?  

Please mark your calendars!  Join us for a LIVE virtual event at 7PM on Tuesday, Feb. 9! To join the event, simply hop on our Facebook page!

Meg Turville-Heitz, our Beyond the Headlines project director, will be in conversation with journalists Julian Emerson and Ron Smith. This special event is hosted by Patty Loew, a professor in the Medill School of Journalism and Director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research at Northwestern University.    

Ron and Julian's stories about their passion and purpose as journalists are informative and inspiring:

Ron Smith of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (formerly from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Ron's story shows how a neighborhood paper educates on important issues, honors its people, and serves a watchdog function. 

Julian Emerson of UpNorthNews (formerly from the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram). Julian's reporting exemplifies how journalists can take readers places we can't usually go—and how this gives us a deeper sense of what is happening in our communities.