"Should we even report it?"
The Beacon is raising funds for a new editor, but prioritizing the survival of any trustworthy news source is far more important.
This is one of my July emails about The Beacon's fundraising campaign.
Yes, that's very important. We'll get to it.
This week, we're doing something different—instead of telling you about the importance of The Beacon and why we deserve your dollars, I want to talk about the importance of journalism and why everyone deserves a fourth estate we can trust.
Journalism overall (especially local journalism) has been in a downward spiral for over 20 years. That is a tragedy for everyone—the fourth estate has the power to save millions of lives by fearlessly holding up an "Inconvenient Mirror," and the two stories I'm about to share will prove it.
By the end of this email, I hope you understand why The Beacon is so committed to free and independent local journalism in Jefferson County and feel inspired to share this email with others over email and/or social media!
The Growing Decline of Local Journalism
Consider these four sobering stats about local journalism in the U.S. today:
- 73% of all newspaper jobs have disappeared since 2005
- 1,524 U.S. counties (0ver 50 million people) have only one news source
- 279 counties are in danger of losing their only local news source
- 206 counties have no local news outlet producing any news
Jefferson County should feel very fortunate to have multiple news sources. Of course, not all news sources agree on which stories to print, or even how to write them, but 206 U.S. counties don't even have that choice. The Beacon is very proud to consistently bring you local news that matters to you.
"Should we even report on this?"
When asked why I love working at The Beacon, I often reply with the article I wrote below from my June 20205 Op-Ed, "Free Reporting Means Fearless Observation":
In college, I was a journalist for my school newspaper. Our student body hosted a Valentine’s Day party with an open bar and there were no legal restrictions as there are now—18 year olds could drink legally. And they did. Quite a bit. By the end of the evening, there were reports of alcohol poisoning and one person’s heart actually stopped. The person in question survived, but the dilemma in our journalism class that week was painfully clear. A student in our class asked, “Should we even report on this? This is newsworthy, but... it could end up shuttering the school.”
To answer that, let's recount a true story from David Halberstam’s epic book on journalism, The Powers That Be...
A reporter from The New York Times was set to interview the leader of a foreign nation. During that interview, the national leader is bombastic, saying outrageous things, even going as far as to say that it was, “good for our country to go to war every once in a while.” Had that statement come out of anyone else's mouth, it would have been ignored and deemed preposterous, but from a powerful world leader? It was chilling.
The reporter was so shocked that he genuinely didn't know what to do: If he wrote the story, it could start a war. He wanted to ask his editor’s advice but knew the story was too sensitive to travel over the airwaves. Instead, he travelled back home to hand deliver the interview… surely the longest return trip of his life.
Safely back in New York, the journalist showed the interview to his editor. Did he think was off the record? asked the editor. The journalist was adamant, I was very clear—the Kaiser knew he was on the record. The editor was stumped—he also thought the story might start a war and didn’t want blood on his hands. Still… they couldn’t ignore it, either. They arranged to take a train to Washington to meet the President to ask his advice and even the President agreed: “Surely he didn’t mean it. It was all just talk. My recommendation is not to print it.” So they buried the story.
The world leader The New York Times had interviewed was Kaiser Wilhelm II. The year was 1908.
As a direct consequence of not reporting on Germany's aggressive ambitions, nobody knew what the Kaiser had been thinking. Six years later, the Great War would take the lives of 40 million people.
An Inconvenient Mirror
A reporter's choice to print the truth of the world is like holding up an inconvenient mirror—sometimes you see really ugly things which may have profound consequences by simply bringing everyone’s attention to it... even starting wars. Yet if the choice is to not show something because it will have profound consequences now, how much worse will the consequences be if you didn’t report on it?
My journalism professor knew this lesson all too well.
“Should we even report on this?” the student next to me had said.
“Let’s say you don’t report on this event,” the journalism professor replied. “What happens at the next party when they still have an open bar and someone does die. Whose fault will it be then?”
We ran that piece in our college newspaper. A lot of people were angry with us because it made the school look bad, and the student body was barred from having open bars anymore. Also true: nobody’s heart ever stopped as a result of free beer.
The Beacon's Campaign So Far
Through your donations, we have already raised $8,687.93 but we still need to raise $21,312.07. We hit a donation plateau this weekend so we're starting to fall behind on our $30,000 goal. Don't wait until the last minute!
Do not hesitate to donate—even if it's a small amount. A mere $5 monthly donation lets you brag to your friends, and that can inspire them to donate, too.
Alternatively, you can always mail a check addressed to Institute for Nonprofit News (not to The Beacon):
Institute for Nonprofit News
ref: The Jefferson County Beacon
8549 Wilshire Blvd #2294
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