Today, May 3rd, 2020, is World Press Freedom Day. But just 2 days prior, we discovered the news media in Bloomington, Indiana took a very serious blow.
On May 1st, Indiana Public Broadcasting (WFIU radio and WTIU television, both in Bloomington) reported that the local newspaper, the Herald Times, had pink slipped both the news editor and the sports editor. Both were reportedly told their jobs would be eliminated at the end of last week.
Rich Jackson had been the senior executive editor. He also had an apartment provided by the newspaper which he was ordered to vacate by noon May 1st. Jackson had been in that position for about ten months. He’s writing a blog about this experience. He’s reported on homelessness in the past, now, he writes, he is homeless.
Sports editor Patrick Beane had been with the newspaper 30 years and was just returning from a furlough when informed the layout for the sports section he prepared Thursday night would be his last. The sports section of the Herald Times had won many awards under Beane’s leadership.
The newspaper business is dying before our very eyes and the journalists toiling to bring you the news are being let go at a record pace. My heart goes out to the news people impacted by the downward spiral of the news business, but I mostly feel for the public which will once again be deprived of the news coverage we all deserve in a free and democratic society.
So, in Bloomington, there is not much to celebrate on World Press Freedom Day. I know all existing news organizations are under intense economic pressure. The Indianapolis Star is covering the biggest story in its history with 25% of its reporting staff on furlough at any given time.
Closer to home, Jeff Jellison, publisher of the Hamilton County Reporter, has vowed to continue with his newspaper and plans to tough out during the current hard times. The Noblesville Times continues to publish.
Current publishing issues a weekly paper to six local communities, including Fishers. However, Current in Fishers, which has mailed a copy of its weekly paper to anyone with a Fishers mailing address since its inception, is sending print editions to 25% of Fishers addresses each week on a rotating basis. You can still read the paper online if you wish.
I must give kudos to the Indianapolis Business Journal, a locally-owned weekly newspaper that does good current reporting on its Web site. So far, there have been no layoffs or cutbacks there.
Bottom line, life is tough all over in the news business these days, particularly local news. Yet, we need local news now more than ever. I wrote my Fishers local news blog for more than 8 years and finally had to call it quits. However, I saw that the local media wasn’t paying much attention to Fishers in the COVID-19 crisis so I do write a story on this blog now and then.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…..subscribe to your local media outlets. It is more important then ever to support the news sources we have. Because if we don’t, tomorrow it may not be there at all.