"Community Newspaper Under Siege"
by Tim Grobaty
It’s bad enough that newspapers are endangered by the economics of everyday life in which many readers no longer want to pay for their news when it is widely distributed for free on the internet. Until the mid-1990s, papers filled newsracks on every corner and the first sound in suburbia each morning was the thwack of newspapers being delivered to virtually every house. Newspaper subscriptions were a staple of every family’s budget. Today, nothing scares off today’s readers quicker than a paywall.
But real news of what’s going on and what’s important in many American neighborhoods still comes from small community newspapers, and many of them are thriving while the major dailies are, to admit to one man’s assessment, failing.
To add to the woes is the fact that many politicians see the media as overzealous watchdogs. And they’re right to think so; their fear is warranted, because that’s what the small newspapers do so well: Keep a steady eye on the opportunistic city government, the shady school board, the double-dipping water commissioner. And there’s a direct relationship between a town’s size and its paper: The smaller the city, the more important its paper is to the community.
In his eloquent (and, of course funny) piece on the importance of community papers, John Oliver said, “Not having reporters at government meetings is like a teacher leaving her room of seventh graders to supervise themselves.”
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Question
Use the passage to answer the question.
What is the main claim the author makes?
(1 point)
Responses
The media keeps politicians in check, especially at a local level.
Community newspapers in America are under siege in a variety of ways.
People are increasingly unwilling to pay for their local weekly newspaper, which is a problem.
The shooting at the Capital Gazette is a sign that reputable journalists are at risk.