Residents share concerns about local news

Roughly a dozen people gathered Tuesday at the McArthur Library in Biddeford to discuss local journalism and a rapidly changing media landscape.

The event was part of a statewide listening tour coordinated by The Maine Monitor, an online publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, and intended to collect public feedback about how people perceive and access local news.

The July 29 event in Biddeford was co-sponsored by Saco Bay News, an online digital news outlet founded by former Journal Tribune reporter Liz Gotthelf in 2020.

“We’re here tonight to listen to you,” said Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, executive director of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting. “We want to know what matters to you when you access news about your community. How do you get your news, and what are the essential things you look for from local media?”

Biddeford Mayor Marty Grohman and Saco Mayor Jodi MacPhail attended the workshop meeting.

“One of the things I hear all the time from my constituents is that they often don’t know about things happening in the city because they don’t know where to find the information,” MacPhail said.

During his remarks, Grohman touched upon a common theme that was shared by many of the attendees: a lack of a daily print newspaper.

“I’m constantly looking for credible news,” Grohman said. “With so many different things online, it can be difficult to find credible news.”

Those attending the meeting were largely over the age of 50 and many of them reported having a hard time getting news that is both locally relevant and comprehensive.

Susan Gold of Saco is a former reporter and editor who worked many years at the Journal Tribune, the former daily newspaper that served northern York County for more than a century.

“It’s great that local governments are doing more to share news about what is happening in the community, but we also need an unbiased person to explain what is actually happening, and we need to be able to trust the accuracy of those reports,” Gold said.

According to Schweitzer-Bluhm, rural communities across Maine are being hit especially hard by a changing media landscape that has seen newsrooms shrink and local coverage evaporate.

“The heyday of print journalism gave readers coverage of town government but also issues that bind the community, whether it’s high school sports, obituaries or public notices about meetings and events,” she explained.

In just the last decade, the Biddeford-Saco area has seen a seismic change in how local news is gathered and shared.

The Portland Press Herald once maintained a local bureau on Main Street in Biddeford that housed operations for reporters, photographers and editors who covered news and events throughout Northern York County.

In 2020, the Journal Tribune, an afternoon daily newspaper based in Biddeford, ceased publication. And the weekly Biddeford-Saco Courier, which was locally owned and operated, was sold to a media conglomerate and ceased print publication earlier this year.

Those changes have many residents wondering where to turn when it comes to finding credible and accurate local news.

Several people said social media sites such as Facebook are filling some of the void when it comes to news and information, but also said social media has many pitfalls, including questionable accuracy and fairness.

“You have people attempting to report news who have no editorial oversight or training,” one woman said.

Ted Sirois of Saco said he misses the opportunity to write letters to the editor and finds himself concerned about bias in news reporting.

Today the Biddeford Saco area is served by three digital news platforms. Saco Bay News is an independent online-only publication that covers the communities of Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach.

The Biddeford Gazette, started in January this year, is another independent, online-only publication that provides hyper-local coverage of Biddeford news and events.

The Courier is now delivered as an electronic, weekly newsletter that also covers Northern York County.

The Portland Press Herald, Maine’s largest daily newspaper, today rarely covers day-to-day, local news in the Biddeford-Saco area.

“It’s certainly not like the old days,” bemoaned former Biddeford City Councilor Patricia Boston. “I miss the days of print newspapers, but I do my best to follow news in both the Gazette and Saco Bay News. It’s important for people to know what is happening in their community.”

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Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be contacted by email: randy@randyseaver.com

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