Notes on media literacy, explaining how outlet coverage is determined + what the loss of local news means for communities
A quick explainer for your Friday afternoon
Let's play a round of why we need to start teaching media literacy, critical reading skills, and fund local news.
This is a reply to a Gothamist piece covering the killing of Jordan Neely.
Gothamist is a publication whose editorial focus is on New York City. Outlets whose coverage focuses on major cities like NYC often report on surrounding communities that are not technically within city limits (like New Rochelle, for example, which is part of Westchester.)
It's great when a local outlet can report on stories that don't happen within their coverage boundaries for many reasons. In the case of New Rochelle, it's right there on the border of the Bronx and is known as a commuter town to the city. It’s not shocking when an NYC-focused outlet covers something happening in a town like New Rochelle. Many readers may work in the city but live in New Rochelle or vice-versus. They might be from the area, they might have family and/or friends who reside there, or they might just be interested in what’s going on right outside city borders. But stories that fall within an outlet’s coverage boundaries are going to be the prominent focus. And they should be.
Here’s the caveat: as we all *SHOULD* know, newsrooms have been shrinking at an insanely concerning rate. In 2021, Pew Reason Center found that U.S. newsrooms have fallen 26 percent since 2008. Mind you, this stat is two years old and we've seen loads of newsroom layoffs (hi!) since then.
The reason this is getting coverage from outside the NYC market is because Jordan's death is emblematic of many larger systemic problems (mental illness epidemic, housing crisis, racial inequities, long-term effects of domestic violence, etc.) that do not only impact NYC but the entire country. Local newsrooms do not have the budget, staff, or bandwidth to report on the political races in the communities outside their coverage areas.
I'm not saying that this tweeter shouldn't be frustrated with the lack of local coverage in their community - they definitely should be. But their frustration should be aimed at public servants in New Rochelle and at the state and federal level for not doing enough to strengthen local news outlets. What they shouldn't do is be annoyed that a story that sheds light on systemic issues is getting needed coverage. When we do that, we're blind to the actual problems that are going on.
People need to be mad at the lack of adequately-funded outlets in their communities. There are drastic repercussions when elections don't have thorough reporting. A prominent example is the lack of basic reporting on George Santos before his election. In my opinion, that was one of the most embarrassing moments for political journalism in recent history. It’s especially disheartening because the North Shore Leader, a local Long Island newspaper, did break the Santos story in September before his November election. The fact that larger outlets didn’t pick up on this and further investigate Santos should be extremely concerning to anyone who lives on Long Island. But this isn’t a New York issue, it’s a national issue.
Yes, higher-ups at New York outlets need to take accountability for not assigning basic coverage of candidates' backgrounds. At the same time, I cannot emphasize enough how this will continue to happen due to a lack of financial support for the press. About two local outlets shutter every week in the U.S., according to a report from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
The average American does not have time to do their own research into every issue impacting their community. How possibly can they when they have their own 40+ hour work or school weeks and personal issues to attend to?
This is why news media was created - to employ people to report stories in an effort to hold institutions and individuals accountable. Obviously, each independent outlet has their own biases — even if indirect — which is why it’s important that communities can get multiple perspectives on issues. That resource is more important than ever right now for anyone living in the U.S. Look at the issues we’re dealing with and how we compare to other countries. A few examples:
The Gun Violence Archive has recorded 192 mass shootings (GVA defines mass shootings as incidents where “four or more people are shot or killed in a single incident, not including the shooter.”) To put that into perspective, we’re on the 124th day of 2023.
“Mass shootings in the US account for 73% of all incidents and 62% of all fatalities in developed countries.” (2021 report from International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice)
Data comparison of how the U.S. stands compared to other developed countries (via The Commonwealth Fund)
“The U.S. is the only high-income country where the number of civilian-owned guns exceeds the total number of people.”
The U.S. Surgeon General just put out an adversary on how Americans’ lack of connection is killing us.
via Vox: “A new report from the Surgeon General says that social isolation’s effects on mortality are equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes every day. Social isolation (an objective measure of lacking connection to families, friends, and community) and loneliness (a subjective measure of feeling disconnected) contribute to a person having a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, anxiety, depression, and dementia, and make people more susceptible to infectious diseases.”
“Since 2000, more than a million people in the United States have died of drug overdoses, the majority of which were due to opioids.” (Council on Foreign Relations)
“The United States makes up 4.4% of the world’s population, and consumes over 80% of the world’s opioids.” (MN Department of Health)
Inaccurate claims painting drag performers as pedophiles (conservative scapegoat tactic) fueling the fatal violence against not only drag performers and transpeople but the entire LGBTQ+ community
“Most sources have shown that a majority of child predators are actually heterosexual. Only 20% of people on the U.S. sex offender registry are part of the LGBTQ community, according to a 2022 study by the UCLA School of Law.”
Very telling how many people parrot anti-drag claims but have little to say whenever there is a new massive report on sexual abuse from the hands of religious leaders (most recently: “Priests and other clergy members of the Archdiocese of Baltimore are accused of sexually abusing more than 600 children over a 60-year period, according to a staggering report by the office of Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, who added that the number of victims is much higher than the jarring figure in the report.)
PLUS massive layoffs, ongoing labor organizing and strikes across different industries, exponential growth in the ongoing mental health crisis, an insane maternal mortality rate compared to other developed countries, the undoing of Roe v. Wade, and A LOT more I don’t have time to list
There’s a lot to say re: all of these issues but I’m not going to wax poetic right because I need to get back to doing my actual paid work lol. BUT if you’re interested in further reporting and analysis on these topics any financial support toward this newsletter will provide me more time to write about it!