(Originally published on the Lessons In Mediocrity site)

There’s no denying it. This is not your father’s news industry anymore. That’s good news, but it’s also very bad news.

I’m writing this because there were three significant local changes in the news industry that happened in just the last two weeks.

More about that in just a moment.

Traditional, legacy media outlets are no longer the sole guardians of truth and justice, and that fact — like it or not – will impact you — and it might even hurt you.

For centuries, newspapers, (and then later) radio and television news operations kept an immeasurable amount of gravitas in their pants’ pocket, like so many nickels and dimes. The publishers, editors (and oftentimes the reporters) took your trust in them for granted.

Nearly 300 years ago, Edmund Burke, a member of British Parliament, reportedly coined the term “Fourth Estate” to describe the press, pointing out its obligations as a check in government oversight and its responsibility to frame political issues as well as to be an advocate for the general public.

Pretty big responsibility, eh?

The industry that was once the trusted and almost sole gatekeeper of vital public news and information is now scrambling, desperately trying to find a way to remain relevant or at least financially solvent.

So, what are the threats and challenges facing both you as a news consumer and traditional media outlets?

First and foremost, social media platforms are taking over the distribution of news and information. There are no more paperboys and even newsrooms are shifting away from brick-and-mortar structures.

In survey after survey; in poll after poll, one fact becomes abundantly clear. Consumers want their news on their schedule (on demand). Readers also try to skirt paywalls, no longer seeing the value of paid news subscriptions.

Readers today gravitate toward click-bait headlines and “news” websites that match their own political ideology.

Never-ending competition, a 24-7 news cycle and the disturbing rise of AI (artificial intelligence) all remain as threats to established and not-so-established news outlets.

And to top it off, reader trust in traditional news outlets is plummeting faster than shares of K-Mart stock.

In his Nov. 29, 2022 opinion column, Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby pointed to a recent Gallup report, which revealed that just one out of three Americans claimed to have a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of confidence in the media.

We could talk all day about the national news scene and the spiraling demise of legacy media, but let’s take a deeper look at the news on a local level, right here where it hurts the most.

Today, almost everyone is a journalist – or so they believe. All you need is a keyboard and an internet connection and its off to the races.

While I love certain aspects of “citizen journalism” it does sort of invite a Wild, Wild West approach in reporting news.

These citizens journalists typically do not have editors or the resources of an editorial board. They have no professional training. Ethics and objectivity are now electives, no longer requirements.

In other ways, however, these pesky citizen journalists and their social media followers do keep some much needed pressure on those Fourth Estate guys, the traditional legacy media outlets.

We’re not in Kansas anymore

Speaking of legacy, traditional media, the Bangor Daily News (BDN) – Maine’s preeminent source of political news – decided last week to shut down its editorial board. The paper will no longer have an Op-Ed (Opinion-Editorial) section.

I found that news strange. It struck me as counter-intuitive, especially since so many people are saying that readers are flocking toward opinion and away from objective news reporting.

While I love certain aspects of “citizen journalism” it does sort of invite
a Wild, Wild West approach in reporting news.

In a Jan. 24 column, the BDN described the move as “the end of an era.”

Susan Young, the paper’s opinion editor, said the news was “bittersweet.”

“Far too few people read opinion content, so we have to try different things,” Young told me during an online conversation, saying the decision was influenced by the paper’s digital analytics.

The BDN’s decision will also mean the end of rigorous and highly regarded opinion columns from people like Amy Fried on the political left to Matt Gagnon on the political right.

Still closer to home, the publishers of the Biddeford-Saco Courier announced on Wednesday that they will now offer their subscribers a digital weekly update via email.

That “announcement” dropped exactly two weeks after I formally launched the Biddeford Gazette, a free digital newspaper dedicated to covering Biddeford news, opinion and events.

For more than 30 years, the Courier has relied upon free delivery of its print publication at newsstands or tossed into the driveways of private homes.

The Courier was founded and locally owned by David and Carolyn Flood. A few years ago, the paper was then sold to the owner of the now defunct Journal Tribune, a daily newspaper that was later acquired by the daily Portland Press Herald. Today, the Press Herald owners also contributor several weekly and daily publications throughout central and southern Maine.

Courier reporter Sydney Richelieu announced the “inaugural edition” of “Biddeford-Saco | Now” in an email sent to subscribers. The move, she said, is designed to offer readers another option in finding out what is happening in their community.

I have some unsolicited advice for Sydney and the Courier’s editors, please stop printing press releases and then labeling them with a byline of “Staff Reports.”

Otherwise, I am quite pleased that you guys finally want to step up your game in covering local news.

To be honest, I have a bit of an advantage over the other guys. I’m a Biddeford native and resident, and I have been covering Biddeford for nearly three decades. I have a stockpile of sources and lots of time on my hands.

Just a few days ago, a close friend of mine remarked that other local publications are now starting to pay more attention (deservedly so) to the city of Biddeford, since I launched the Gazette.

That’s actually really good news, especially for the people of Biddeford.

The other guys may not like the fact that I am now in the mix, but they should remember the folks at the Journal Tribune were none too happy when the Courier was launched in 1989; and the folks at the Courier were none too happy that Saco Bay News came along in 2019 and showed off the nimble advantages of being a digital publication.

Increased competition does not help the Courier, Saco Bay News or the Biddeford Gazette, but it does keep a fire lit under our asses; and that is good news for readers.

The people of Biddeford should not have to rely upon just one reporter for the news that matters to them.

Competition keeps reporters motivated, but more importantly – it keeps them in check.

The Biddeford Gazette is not trying to put anyone else out of business. In fact, the opposite is true.

The Biddeford Gazette uses its own social media pages on Facebook, BlueSky and X to round up and share local news stories from other media companies. No one else does that.

You read that right. We take the time to share news from the other guys on our social media pages. And when you click to read those stories, you are not directed to our website, instead all the postings will link automatically to whatever source produced the news, whether it’s Saco Bay News, the Courier or WGME-TV.

Please visit our new Facebook page and follow us to experience a new level of local news coverage.

Whenever or wherever news about Biddeford is published, we will be there to make sure you know about it.

That’s my mission. That’s my passion.

I value your trust.

I will not stop.

Editor’s Note: This is a corrected version of an earlier story. The Biddeford-Saco Courier was originally acquired by the publisher of the Journal Tribune, not the Portland Press Herald. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion it may have caused.