When newsrooms ruled: A journalist’s look at the changing media environment
We must reflect on the past to understand journalism's future.
When I started in journalism many years ago, traditional newsrooms were the foundation of the industry. Newspapers, television, and radio dominated the media landscape, each playing a unique role in shaping public understanding of the world. On my block, every house subscribed to the local newspaper, and neighbors would gather to discuss the day’s stories—both local and national—creating a shared sense of community around the news.
Journalists, working out of bustling newsrooms, created content for audiences who relied on these outlets as their primary source of information. But everything changed with the rise of the internet. The digital age introduced new platforms for news dissemination, gradually shifting power away from traditional media and opening the door to online publications, social media, and citizen journalism. This shift transformed how we consume news, bringing both new challenges and opportunities to the industry.
While the internet revolutionized how news was consumed, the consequences were far-reaching, and, in my view, negative on several levels. Traditional newspapers, struggling to navigate the digital shift, saw their circulation plunge while advertising dollars flowed to Big Tech platforms that freely repurposed their content.
News organizations bore the costs of gathering and producing journalism, only for Big Tech to monetize that content, reaping advertising revenue without contributing to its creation. No wonder Big Tech made billions and newspapers went bankrupt.
As newspapers cut reporting staffs, local journalism—once the backbone of community engagement—eroded, leaving many stories untold and communities less informed. With shrinking resources, newsrooms eliminated beats, making reporters at City Hall meetings, school board sessions, and planning commission hearings an increasingly rare sight.
Shady politicians welcomed the decline, knowing fewer reporters meant fewer eyes on their actions, and a lower chance of their misdeeds being exposed to the public.
Local events that directly impacted communities, once thoroughly covered by reporters who knew their beats intimately, now often went uncovered. This shift created a void in accountability, as crucial decisions made by local officials and agencies were no longer scrutinized in the same way.
The loss of these watchdogs has led to a growing disconnect between the public and the institutions meant to serve them. The impact of this decline in local reporting is still being felt, as fewer voices are telling the day-to-day stories that shape our neighborhoods.
But there is some good news amidst the decline of local journalism. A growing number of local non-profit news organizations, funded by philanthropy and community donations, are stepping in to fill the gap. Despite operating with small newsrooms, these outlets are doing incredible work, often providing in-depth coverage of local issues that larger outlets can no longer afford to focus on.
There are also several news outlets focusing on ethnic media, delivering news tailored to the specific interests and cultural needs of the many diverse communities in our region. These are stories and issues that were often overlooked by mainstream media in the past, offering a much-needed perspective that was once missing.
Despite these challenges, journalism is not dying, but it is clearly evolving. Digital innovations, nonprofit news models, and reader-supported platforms are filling the void.
While the traditional newsroom with hundreds of reporters likely won’t return to its former dominance, the core values of journalism continue to be told through a new generation of journalists. They have the opportunity to use the latest technology to inform and engage their communities.
We are still in the early stages of this transformation in news coverage, but I’m confident that future journalists will continue to hold their communities accountable.