Local journalism key to successful community

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In a column published in the Cape Gazette of Lewes, Delaware, Allison Taylor Levine, president and founder of the Local Journalism Initiative, and vice president for marketing and communications at the Delaware Community Foundation, encouraged readers to take part in an upcoming research study.  She said the study will help shape the future of news and information about communities in Delaware.

Here is an excerpt from her column:

Today, local news is in crisis. And that’s bad news for all of us. This survey, sponsored by the Delaware Community Foundation and a new organization called the Local Journalism Initiative, seeks to address this problem.

Research tells us that the loss of strong, independent, local journalism results in higher taxes, lower voter turnout, more unsolved crimes, fewer people running for office, and the loss of connection and empathy for our neighbors. Data shows that this phenomenon is hitting communities of color particularly hard.

There’s no silver bullet, no magic trick to reviving the news industry as it was. We need to find a new path forward.

So, last year, a group of former journalists, community leaders and funders in Delaware came together to launch the Local Journalism Initiative, an effort to find new ways to rebuild some of what has been lost.

Read more from the Cape Gazette