Why it makes sense to stand with Maine’s free press

By Jo Easton, Bangor Daily News director of development

The founders of our country knew journalism is necessary for an informed electorate — in short, for American democracy to thrive. They wrote protection of the free press into the Bill of Rights, 

Thank you.and a year later codified affordable access to newspapers all across the country in the Postal Service Act. As Americans, we should be grateful that their foresight has protected our way of life for more than 220 years. Yet those same founders couldn’t have foreseen the internet and how it would change the world.

Today, both reading habits and advertising dollars have migrated online, meaning that policies supporting only print distribution are no longer sufficient, and much of the advertising that for the last 150 years supported local newsrooms’ ability to cover what’s happening in communities and local governments now accrues to big companies, like Google and Facebook, that aren’t invested in local places. 

It’s tempting to fill this space with more words about how shifts in technology, the economy and habits have affected local journalism. I’d rather tell you about what makes Maine’s independent local newspapers and websites valuable to us all. 

No matter how each of us relate to our communities, we are all people who care about the quality of life in the place where we live. Local news organizations are valuable because we are invested in local places — just like you. Our journalists live here, work here and care about the quality of life in our communities. We have a stake in Maine’s policies, institutions and businesses. Our journalism inspires real action and delivers results. Here are just a few examples.

Bangor Daily News’ reporting on challenges and solutions around housing affordability inspired meaningful action: A housing project rejected by Cumberland voters ended up moving to Biddeford after the developer read the BDN story on the vote.

For more than two years, the BDN has been compassionately and persistently showing what living with PFAS contamination in their land, water or community has meant for Mainers. Local residents and readers from thousands of miles away write to tell us that our reporting is helping them understand what questions to ask to protect their family’s health. 

This fall, the BDN uncovered abuses at a Hampden residential care facility for disabled adults, shining light on licensing requirements for homes that provide care for a vulnerable population.

We hold law enforcement to a high standard and our reporting has led to state-level investigations into the actions of a Maine sheriff selling weapons from his office’s evidence room in which witness after witness testified that they learned about the issue by reading the BDN.

Our professional duty is to report the facts, seek the truth and bring what we discover to you. We do that through journalism that holds government, service providers and other leaders accountable, tells us what’s happening in our communities, and celebrates our common Maine experience. 

This season, many independent local news outlets in our state are asking for financial support to protect and strengthen our ability to do this important work. Some are for-profit (like Penobscot Bay Pilot), some are nonprofit (like The Maine Monitor) and some (like Bangor Daily News) are fiscally sponsored for-profits. In our case, all community donations go into a fund for BDN journalism managed by Eastern Maine Development Corp. that helps to cover the costs of reporting, keeping 100 percent of every dollar raised in Maine. Irrespective of business model, community support is critical to our ability to fulfill our civic missions.

Your end-of-year contribution to local, independent newsrooms you value helps to ensure investigative, accountability and community journalism has a sustainable home in Maine. We hope that you will consider local journalism as you plan your end-of-year charitable giving. 

If the BDN is on your list, you may make a donation at bangordailynews.com/support.

Thank you.