Where local news comes in

Who do you trust to tell you the truth? Who do you believe when it comes to finding out information? 

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately (ok, for the past several years, but even more lately) is that so many of the deep divides across our country right now come from the fact that we all trust different sources. Even worse, we tend to believe the sources that are telling us what we want to hear. 

I think a lot of debates over current issues end up going nowhere because one side implicitly distrusts anything they perceive as coming from "the other side." Someone who watches CNN won't listen to a news story from Fox News, and vice versa. But it's hard to have discussions when information immediately gets shot down with "that's fake news/sensationalism/propaganda." 

To make things worse, we all gravitate toward the sources that back up our positions. Confirmation bias is the idea that people tend to favor and seek out information that supports their pre-existing beliefs. Honestly, every single one of us is guilty of this, and most of us do it unintentionally. It certainly doesn't help that social media algorithms know how to feed us what we want and typically end up creating echo chamber spaces. When we do hear other perspectives, it's uncomfortable to wrestle with facts that don't line up neatly with what we think is true. The problem comes when, rather than doing that wrestling by listening to other voices and doing further research, we instantly reject things we don't want to accept. We need to be willing to do the work. 

But the fact remains that, at the end of the day, we all have to trust someone. We can't be everywhere to see everything for ourselves, and we're not all experts in every field. We have to listen to others who tell us about what's going on and we have to trust who we believe is qualified to give us reliable information. There are good ways and bad ways to determine who to listen to, but we all have to make that choice.

Unfortunately, these days, it can feel increasingly difficult to know who to listen to, and the amount of information we take in can be overwhelming. It's easy to get lost in "doomscrolling" and be increasingly anxious and fearful about how to know what's real, or how to respond to everything going on. 

I believe that local news helps us address both of these issues. (I know I'm biased when I say that, but hear me out.) First off, local news lets you know who information is coming from, because it's the people in your community. Second, local news can help you be connected and take meaningful action. 

Let's also acknowledge that just because information comes from your town or state doesn't make all of it infallible. It should still be held up to journalistic ethics and standards to make sure it's trustworthy. But in general, it's easier to check the reliability of local news, and easier to connect it to your own life. 

I was listening to the podcast "Alive with Steve Burns" this week. (I'm a millennial who grew up on Blue's Clues, so yes I was excited when Steve recently started his own cozy podcast to tackle big life issues.) Steve was talking to U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, and they discussed the idea that we're "too politically engaged at exactly the wrong levels," as Steve said, and that we're "too engaged to the national theater," as Rep. Khanna agreed. When we know more about politicians from other states than we do about our own school boards and city councils, there's a problem. 

When you're following local news, you're not just arguing about the reality of people who are far away. Instead, you're keeping up with what's happening at the levels that directly affect you. It's easier to know what to believe when it's close to you, and it's important to know what issues you may want to follow up on. And following up can lead to being involved. 

After Jane Goodall passed away last week, I heard a quote from her: 

"People come to me depressed and saying 'well, the world's a mess, and you know, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just one person.' We have a saying: 'think globally, act locally.' It's the wrong way round. If you think globally you cannot but be depressed and feel helpless. But I say to them, think of your own community. What can you do there? What do you care about? Start doing something to make it better. Get other people to help you. You'll see, you make a difference. That makes you feel good. Then you want to do more. Then you inspire more people." 

Local news helps you know what's going on and what you can do about it, letting you get involved in tangible ways.

This week (October 5 - 11) is National Newspaper Week, and this year's theme is "Embracing Local Journalism for a Better Future."

Newspaper Association Managers, the group that has been sponsoring and supporting National Newspaper Week for 85 years, had this to say: 

"Local journalism is the heartbeat of informed communities. It brings stories to light that national outlets often overlook-stories about school board decisions, city council debates, neighborhood events, and local heroes. In a world increasingly shaped by global headlines and social media noise, reconnecting with local news is vital for civic engagement, accountability, and community resilience."

I want to be clear that I do believe we have an obligation to be informed about what's happening at a global and national level. We should seek out reliable information, and find ways to get involved where we can. However, a lot of that is beyond our reach. We can do more good and be more effective by engaging with things where we are, and letting that ripple outwards. That starts with being informed about what's happening around you, which starts with local news.