In North Carolina, we are organizing the trusted messengers we need to preserve democracy one storyteller and community at a time.
Editor’s Note: Each week, Beacon Media’s newsletter covers what we’re doing and the world and media landscape around us. It will occasionally be featured on this Substack. For each edition, subscribe here.
Looking around at the state of the world right now, you’d be forgiven for feeling like our best days are behind us. The federal government is slashing programs that millions depend on for basics like food, shelter, health care, and education. Meanwhile, we are pouring resources into agencies designed to terrorize, criminalize, and disappear marginalized people.
It’s easy to catastrophize or check out to preserve your mental health. But when things fall apart, it creates an opening to build something new and better — if we have the vision and the ability to keep our wits about us as the world we know crumbles.
The news industry knows a thing or two about worlds crumbling. Over the past 20 years, the number of newspapers has dropped by about a third. More than that, over the last 20 years, American newspapers have hemorrhaged 77% of its jobs.
Many now get our information from a Facebook algorithm, which may not feature much news about our communities at all. This lack of local information — and, frankly, loss of a sense of community created through institutions like robust local media — has been linked directly to the assault on democracy we are seeing now.
The “old” way is never coming back. So it is worth remembering that in the midst of destruction, there is also opportunity, while knowing that change will look different depending on where you live.
Almost every county in North Carolina is served by at least one local newspaper. I’ve begun to learn how the ownership, quality, and standing in the community of those newspapers varies a lot.
In Franklin County, for example, there is a paper that has served the community since 1870 and has been owned and operated for decades by Gary Cunard. He runs the paper with his wife, one reporter, a graphics person, and a part-time employee named Libby who is retired from the local plant but is still working because she’s raising her two grandkids and besides, she likes doing a little bit of everything to help get the paper out each week.
They used to have a sports reporter, but haven’t found a replacement since he moved to Ohio to care for his mother. What will happen to the Franklin Times when Gary retires? That’s a big question. But for now, they’re delivering newspapers to 4,000 customers every week, covering local government, high school sports, and providing a virtual one-stop shop for local information in Franklin County.
They are an example of doing more with less. At a statewide level, The Assembly is building a news organization with big ideas, in-depth stories and an ambitious business plan. They employ excellent journalists covering state politics, along with a healthy dose of culture, and operate five local media outlets that function like bureaus around the state.
And that’s just one of at least a handful of media startups that are investing in local journalism in North Carolina.
So yes, the face of local news and information has been changing rapidly. In some places, it’s been on life support for decades. In others, it’s like a daisy pushing up through the cracks in the sidewalk thanks to people who know that without a watchdog, corruption will fester in their communities. Other places see non-traditional methods of covering the news from invested moms covering school boards to citizen journalists simply taking it on themselves without the backing of an organization.
The need for relevant, local information is not going away. As the old models recede and shift, new ones emerge. It has become clear to me as Beacon Media’s Community Media Liaison — developing relationships in communities and figuring out how information actually moves in N.C. communities — that we need an even more vigorous and innovative response than we ever imagined.
At Beacon Media, we’re not (yet) reporting the news. But we’re seeing that what people want and need – in addition to accurate, truthful information – is connection and authenticity through persuasive commentary and trusted leaders that takes on this assault to democracy head on.
We’re also filling a gap for community publications statewide — and building a platform to empower working-class and marginalized North Carolinians to tell their own stories in their own words.
By inviting newspapers to republish our content for free, we are ensuring that even the smallest newspaper has access to high-quality, edited, and fact-checked opinion and commentary content so that readers can hear diverse perspectives about the issues that matter most.
Those who work with us as Beacon Voices are already doing great work in their communities. We provide support and backing to help these community leaders share their perspectives on the things that matter to all of us, with authenticity and honesty. It’s a brave thing to do, and I’m proud and grateful for everyone who takes the time and makes the considerable effort to engage in a lengthy mentoring and editing process.
We’re working with newspapers owned by people like Gary who see the benefits in sharing the perspectives of North Carolinians in their own words – because that’s how we connect and build across difference. Readers might not agree with everything a Beacon Voice has to say – and that’s OK. But if we can connect on a human level and share vital perspectives and information through the lens of personal stories, maybe we can share the same reality.
We are now working to expand our offerings to our Beacon Voices, movement partners, and publications thoughtfully in the digital space and on social media. These efforts will take resources, and I hope you’ll consider supporting us. As we learn and shift tactics community by community, we won’t lose sight of who we are and who we serve — small cities and towns, with a focus on Black, Latino and rural folks. (Follow our new account on Instagram!)
We need truth tellers. These are the voices that can lead us out of the darkness — if we have the courage to follow them.
We are building a following for Beacon Voices in their communities and regions through local media and on their social media channels. And we are helping create a new paradigm for information delivery.
Thank you for being on this journey with us as we look for openings, discover ways to shift the landscape, and plant new seeds for the future we will build together.
What do you see right now in media or elsewhere that is creating room for something new — and maybe better?
