The narrative about the death of local journalism is an easy one to grasp, because it’s a tale of technological disruption that has quite a bit of truth to it. (1/x)

The narrative of the ongoing vitality of local journalism doesn’t get heard often enough because it’s hard to wrap your arms around. It’s here and there, different approaches, no one-size-fits-all solution. (2/x)

The small daily paper where I worked my first 10 year out of college is still owned by the founding family and still providing good coverage, even though it’s had to cut back. (3/x)

I recently attended the conference of the NY Press Association, upstate independent publishers. Anecdotally, they told me they were doing OK — not great, but not dying. These were weeklies up to medium-size dailies. (4/x)

Talking about the disruptive effects of technology now is damn close to being a smokescreen. It’s so 2005. The biggest problem by far is that corporate chains and hedge funds are squeezing the life out of local newspapers. (5/x)

Look at what the @LIONPubs are doing. Look at what independently owned papers are doing in print and online. Look at the nonprofit future being charted by the @sltrib. (6/x)

Why is New Haven maybe the best-covered medium-sized city in America? Because @PaulJBass had the vision and energy to launch the @newhavenindy, still going strong after 14 years. Read about it in “The Wired City.” (7/x)

How does @howardowens manage to provide a wealth of community news in @thebatavian? Through hard work and dedication. (8/x)

In “The Return of the Moguls” I look at what happened in Burlington VT after @Gannett decimated the @bfp_news. For-profit ( @sevendaysvt) and nonprofit ( @vtdigger @vprnet) beefed up to fill the gap. (9/x)

Not to repeat myself, but local news isn’t dying. It’s being murdered. Tech disruption is real and serious, but it can be managed with civic-minded local ownership. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And listen to this if you get a chance: https://sfpublicpress.org/news/2019-11/as-newspapers-decline-some-pursue-nonprofit-model (10/10)