Across the nation, there is a crisis in local news. One-fifth of Americans live in a news desert or a community at risk of losing a credible source of local news, according to recent research from Northwestern University.
Count Brookline residents among them. Ever since the regionalization of news in The Brookline Tab in 2019 and the subsequent demise of its print edition in May 2022, Brookline has been a local news desert.
If you would like to bring a new professionally reported local news outlet to Brookline, click on the buttons below to be part of the efforts of a group of Brookline journalists and businesspeople to start a non-profit news organization, Brookline.News.
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Research links news deserts with decreased voter participation and increased polarization and corruption. Indeed, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace recently listed buttressing local news as one of five key strategies to fight the erosion of democracy. “Local media is correlated with a host of pro-democratic habits, from voting and split-ticket voting to civic participation,” its report notes. “Local media appears to amplify the effects of counter measures that help fight disinformation.”
As disturbing as the spread of news deserts is, the landscape across the country – including here in Brookline – is dotted with innovative initiatives to revive sources of local news.
In Brookline, a group of journalists and businesspeople has been working hard to found Brookline.News as an independent, non-profit outlet whose content will be free to all. Brookline.News is proud to have been accepted to join the Institute for Nonprofit News, which supports more than 400 outlets nationwide.
Brookline.News will be produced by professional reporters and editors paid professional wages. It aims to be:
- Informative. Brookline.News will cover developments in town government, schools, the business community and neighborhoods.
- Interesting. Brookline.News will explore the rich diversity that is Brookline through profiles, trend stories and other feature articles.
- Useful. Brookline.News will be a source of information about events, services and the opening of new businesses.
Brookline.News will be funded through a combination of philanthropy and donations, membership, advertising and sponsorships.
Interested? Click on the buttons below to be part of this exciting effort to bring local news back to Brookline.