The panelists will discuss how the local news crisis is playing out in Clark County and what it means for the future of local news in Southwest Washington

VANCOUVER – Join area media representatives for a community forum on Thu., Nov. 16, as they respond to the question: “Does Local News Even Matter?” 

Also participating will be Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, University of Oregon Agora Journalism Center’s Regina G. Lawrence and Len Reed, formerly an editor at The Oregonian, and now a faculty member at Washington State University-Vancouver. 

The panelists will discuss how the local news crisis is playing out in Clark County and what it means for the future of local news in Southwest Washington. Statewide, a million subscribers to local newspapers have been lost while papers have cut two-thirds of their news staffs and 20 papers have closed altogether. 

The free event begins at 7 p.m. and will be in the Columbia Room of the Vancouver Community Library, 901 C St., Vancouver. Seating is limited and registration is required. https://fvrl.librarymarket.com/does-local-news-even-matter-community-forum.

For those needing closed-caption viewing or who are unable to attend in person, Clark/Vancouver Television – CVTV.org — will air the event live as well as make it available as a recording. It also will be streamed live on the League of Women Voters of Clark County Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LWVClarkCounty.

The League of Women Voters of Washington recently completed an extensive study of local newspapers in the Evergreen state titled “The Decline of Local News and Its Impact on Democracy.” A free PDF of the study is available here. It is also available as a softback at cost for $9.52 on Amazon and as an electronic book for $1.99. Details about the League’s study are available at lwvwa.org/local-news.

Information provided by League of Women Voters of Clark County.