League of Women Voters of Clark County to hold event with area journalists
VANCOUVER — Is the local news crisis that’s playing out across the country happening in Clark County, too?
Reliable, responsible local news is struggling as one-fourth of the country’s newspapers have closed since 2008. The future looks even bleaker as we’re on track to lose one-third by 2025.
This growing information deficit is resulting in troubling and powerful impacts: fewer candidates seeking local elected office, reduced voter turnout, higher government costs, greater political polarization, less community engagement and challenges to public health.
Is the same thing happening in Southwest Washington? Or is it destined to be? Should we care?
Area residents are invited to join the League from 7-8:30 p.m., Thu., Nov. 16, for “Does Local News Even Matter?” This community conversation is hosted by the League of Women Voters of Clark County and the Fort Vancouver Regional Library.
The event will feature representatives from The Columbian, Oregon Public Broadcasting, The Reflector, and Clark County Today. The other panelists will be Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Washington State University-Vancouver journalism instructor Len Reed, and Regina Lawrence, associate dean of the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, who also serves as the research director of the university’s Agora Journalism Center.
The event will be in the Columbia room of the Vancouver Community Library, 901 C St., Vancouver. Seating is limited and registration is required. Here’s the link: https://fvrl.librarymarket.com/does-local-news-even-matter-community-forum
The League of Women Voters of Washington, dedicated to defending democracy and empowering voters, 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 Nov. 16 event and the League’s study are available at lwvwa.org/local-news.
Information provided by League of Women Voters of Clark County.
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