Paula Routly: Strengthening Journalism on Local News Day

When I’m at the gym, listening to podcasts such as the New York Times’ “The Daily,” I expect to hear smart, in-depth reporting on issues I ought to know about. Occasional ads, including self-promotional ones, pop up, but last month a stark announcement from New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger caught my ear.

After introducing himself, Sulzberger, 45, said, “Normally, in these ads, we talk about the importance of subscribing to the Times. I’m here today with a different message: I’m encouraging you to support any news organization that’s dedicated to original reporting. If that’s your local newspaper, terrific — local newspapers in particular need your support. If that’s another national newspaper, that’s great, too.”

The Times campaign is a sign of growing awareness within the journalism community that we should focus less on competing with one another and more on calling out our common enemies: disinformation, AI that steals and rehashes our content, lack of financial resources, and ignorance of how journalism works and why it’s important.

In a story about the Times initiative, the Nieman Lab at Harvard University confirmed it was Sulzberger’s first ad of this kind. The writer also noted that “the Times can afford to be generous” because it “has emerged as one of the clearest winners of the digital era.”

I would add that the Times and other national outlets rely on local reporters on the ground to find and cover stories that its own writers might decide to pursue later. Increasingly, that information network — of leads, sources, hardworking journalists and publishers in towns across the U.S. — is imperiled.

If you value trusted, local news, consider how you can help the cause.

Intentionally or not, Sulzberger’s message happens to coincide with the inaugural Local News Day on April 9, billed as “a national day of action connecting communities with trusted local news.” More than 1,000 newsrooms around the country — including Seven Days and a couple dozen more here in Vermont— are promoting its published goals: to “reconnect people to trusted local outlets, empower newsrooms to grow, and spark a national movement that sustains local news for generations.”

To link the two efforts, we got the Times’ permission to reprint the entirety of Sulzberger’s ad in this week’s paper — it’s on page 29. Sulzberger doesn’t come right out and say it, but Nieman noted: “The vast majority of Americans do not pay for or support any news sources.” We’re profoundly grateful for the donors who help pay for Seven Days. Our recurring monthly Super Readers are now donating a total of $4,000 a week.

We’re using it to fund our ambitious journalism.

And we want that work to have a greater reach: In the spirit of cooperation and mutual support, we at Seven Days have decided to offer our stories free of charge to print newspapers in areas of the state where we don’t circulate, instead of charging a reprinting fee.

We expect outlets in southern Vermont may want to republish our culture content — our food writers and art critics make regular trips south to cover restaurants, exhibitions and people in those geographical areas. The publications may also help themselves to book reviews, features and news stories of statewide interest — for example, Alison Novak’s award-winning education reporting.

“Since we’re a small paper with limited resources, we can’t cover everything,” said Randy Holhut, news editor of the Commons in Brattleboro. “That one of the best weeklies in New England wants to share content with us is flattering.”

We’re also extending this offer to papers that operate along the borders of our circulation area.

If you value trusted, local news, consider how you, too, can help the cause on April 9. Find information on how to give to Seven Days below or on our donation page.

The original print version of this article was headlined “Pay the Way on Local News Day”