Journalism is crucial for any free society. It seems silly to have to spell out what journalism is and why it’s important, but many people seem to have become resigned to the fact that journalism is no longer a viable career for all but an increasingly small number of people. 

Some might add that to an ever growing list of things to sigh about these days, but others believe the current state of support for newspapers means that it’s even more important to fight for them. Dedicated would-be reporters, whether experienced or fresh out of school, should be encouraged, not told to learn coding. 

Think Locally

The biggest gap in journalism is also the easiest one for would-be journalists to fill: local news. 

The American Journalism Project has a lot of data on why local journalism is important for democracy, but reporting in a community isn’t just about politics. Local news lets people know what businesses are new to the neighborhood, how the kids’ sports teams are playing, who has died, who has gotten married, when the county fair will be happening this year, and so on. 

Unlike a social media page, local reporting serves the function of keeping a community up-to-date in order to better facilitate participation in social programs and in-person events. And unlike reporting on world events, you don’t have to move to an expensive city or convince an official to give you a badge to tell your neighbors that there will be a street-wide yard sale at the end of the month. 

The Internet Is a Tool

While social media isn’t a good replacement for quality local reporting, you’re going to have a hard time reviving your local news ecosystem by printing things off at the copy shop. Even though the downsides are well-documented, you could open your laptop right now and have a clean, professional, ready to go newsletter started in minutes. And not just ready to look at on the backend, but free to send out and be read by anyone in the world. 

If you dream of eventually launching a physical publication, that’s an incredible long-term goal. To begin, pick your newsletter service of choice and start on a screen. Most of these services allow options for free and paid subscriptions, and there are also services that you can use to collect voluntary tips instead of subscriptions if that feels better for you. 

From there, you should make social media accounts on at least a few platforms so you can link to your stories and allow your readers to seamlessly share your work with their friends and neighbors. 

Why Should They Trust You?

As much as people in any country complain about their major international newspapers, if you say you’re a reporter for The New York Times, the BBC, Le Monde, The Washington Post, and so on, you’re unlikely to be asked to prove that you are, in fact, a journalist. The same isn’t going to be true for news-hopefuls with a fresh Substack and zero subscribers. 

If you went to journalism school, then you’re already set up with a certain degree of professionalism. But there are other ways to prove yourself other than an expensive degree. 

Let your work speak for itself. Show up to local events. Do the tough work of research, cast a wide net, and establish a track record of having good intel. It won’t take years of work for people to notice that you are, in fact, at all the high school soccer games, actually know the names of the players, and can accurately report on how they’re playing. And if a local group is trying to throw a charity event, they’ll be excited to have you spreading the word and will likely recommend your work to their members as someone who is interested in their efforts. 

Find Your Friends

Even if you find some success, and your publication becomes trusted and widely read in your community, you’re not going to be raking in the cash. And even if you are, there are only so many hours in a day, and you won’t be able to cover absolutely everything with any degree of quality. 

That’s where you'll want to take the next step in creating your own newspaper by finding some other reporters. A parent is going to have an easier time staying up-to-date on activities at the high school than someone without kids. Someone who has worked in local politics will have a leg up reporting on elections. Maybe your group of would-be staffers only has one person with a journalism school degree, and that person is more comfortable doing “official” things like asking the police for updates on local crime. 

The added bonus of recruiting other people to work with you is that eventually you might be able to form a real worker-owned publication, and then you know that your local paper will always be safe from a corporate buyout! 

News Keeps Communities Strong

The word hobby implies frivolity, which is demeaning and unfair; in reality, unpaid and underpaid work is often the most important work there is. Rebuilding local news from the ground up is a worthy goal, one that will strengthen community ties and build more value than advertising revenue ever could. 

Chelsea Ennen is a writer living in Brooklyn with her husband and her dog. When not writing or reading, she is a fiber and textile artist who sews, knits, crochets, weaves, and spins.