In the late 1970s, I had just started as the morning news anchor for WCSI Radio in Columbus, Indiana.  I was also tasked with covering any news events scheduled during the day.

I was to cover a meeting of the Indiana State Senate Finance Committee.  The location of that Columbus meeting was a building that I had never entered.

Upon arrival, the front doors were all locked and it appeared there was no one in the building.  I double-checked and found I was at the correct address.

Then the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, John Mutz arrived.  One thing I knew for sure – the meeting wouldn’t start before the chairman arrived.

We were both a few minutes late and could not figure out how to enter this building.  Finally, I found what looked like a fire-escape style ladder on the side of the building.  We went up the ladder, found a large steel door, and found the meeting, waiting for the chairman to arrive.

That was the first time I ever met John Mutz.  He struck me as a good and down-to-earth man as we partnered to find a way into that Columbus building.  As I continued my journalism career, I found Mr. Mutz had a reputation for integrity, even among those not on his political wave length.

John Mutz later became Lieutenant Governor for the State of Indiana, but lost in his bid for governor.  He became a corporate executive as well as a leader in the nonprofit sector, heading up the Lilly Foundation for a time.

The name of John Mutz surfaced in an Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) article published in the September 10th edition.  Reporter Emily Ketterer wrote about Mr. Mutz’s involvement in the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism’s Local News Initiative.

As a former politician, office holder and private sector leader, Mutz saw how the lack of local news was hurting communities.  He wanted to do something about it.  He put his money on that concern.

Data cited in the IBJ article says 200 counties and 1,300 communities throughout the United States have no local news sources as of early 2020.  Indiana has fared a bit better with only two counties without some local news source – Scott and Crawford.

John Mutz donated an initial $250,000 to start the Local News Initiative program in 2017,  then later kicked-in $2 million two years later.  He also arranged for foundation funding to augment the program.

The Medill School is helping news organizations in focusing on how to serve readers.  The online advertising dollars are being scooped-up by the big tech platforms, meaning local news outlets must lean on reader revenue.

The program helps in gathering and interpreting data to develop content relevant to the local community served.

I have been writing about the tragic slow death of local news outlets for years.  Seeing a man like John Mutz supporting a major endeavor aimed to helping these local news outlets is encouraging.  Let us just say I am a bit more hopeful about the future of local news now.

You can read the IBJ story at this link.  (Note: Subscription may be required)