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By Willie Brown
The National Newspaper Publishers Association is hosting its annual convention in June. To those to say newspapers are dead, there are still many who prefer to get their news in printed form.
Despite the digital world, there is still a place for newspapers. Some people like to physically turn the page. Information is easy to access, no scrolling, or waiting for pages to download. More importantly, independent news publishers seek to capture the lives of those who have been marginalized from society.
While big name news outlets are all helpful in their own way, we need to realize that there are other news organizations—niche news organizations—that can provide the full scope on issues and topics relevant to you.
Because of a large general audience, big conglomerates cannot possibly focus on the issues that are important to you if you are black, Latino, Asian, female, LGBTQ or any other group. A large chunk of the general population would be left out, so it wouldn’t be profitable for CNN, ABC and others news groups to highlight specific demographics unless the subject is attached to a celebrity or news of a negative, salacious nature.
As you begin to search out independent news sources, you will discover your tribe—people with similar interests, who share the same sentiments as yourself. From there, you can begin to build communities and hopefully take action toward changing unfavorable conditions that specifically affect you.
Often, people are focused on the big stuff so much that they pay too little attention to the things that matter most. On a large scale, the Presidential and Congressional elections get the most press coverage. But what we need to be paying attention to are the smaller, local elections because that is where we live. City council members and state-elected leaders enact laws that directly affect our public safety, money, environment, and education.
This is where local news excels because the press is more accessible, much more interested in reporting news that affects their immediate audience.
While our national leaders are focused on the national deficit, climate change and international conflict, local leaders are concerned about the quality of our public schools, potholes, homelessness, crime and other issues.
Inglewood Today is a proud member of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. We uphold the organization’s creed to “lead the world away from racial and national antagonisms” and seek to provide accurate, positive news and excludes no one. Let’s support our newspaper associations with our support and advertising dollars so they can continue to bring content that matters most to you.
