By DAVID ROSEN
Waltham Times Contributing Writer
Veteran journalist Ellen Clegg told a Waltham gathering on Saturday that cities and towns must strengthen community ties and civic engagement and support legitimate news sources to fill a news void caused by massive newspaper closures across the country.
Clegg, a former opinion and editorial pages editor at The Boston Globe, co-founder of the Brookline.News website and co-author of “What Works in Community News: Media Startups, News Deserts, and the Future of the Fourth Estate” spoke at The Waltham Times Community Forum on Nov. 9.
Some 150 residents attended the event at The Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation. They came to learn about the city’s month-old nonprofit, nonpartisan weekly online newsletter and to discuss issues and topics that matter to them.
In her keynote address titled “The Future of Journalism,” Clegg noted that 3,200 newspapers have closed since 2005, resulting in the loss of 43,000 newsroom jobs.
She said the closures were caused by a significant drop in advertising revenue that newspapers had lost to social media outlets such as Facebook and Google and the Craigslist website, which took 40% of classified ad revenue away from newspapers.
The closures have created what Clegg called “news deserts.”
As reliable news sources have closed, “pink slime” news sites have stepped in to fill the vacuum, she said.
“While they appear to cover the news, they really are thinly disguised propaganda” filled with “misinformation and disinformation … local news is more twisted at a time of polarization,” she added.
Now more than ever, “we need reliable local news for democracy to flourish,” Clegg said.
In a question-and-answer session following Clegg’s presentation, an attendee asked about possible government funding to support local news outlets. But Mary K. Pratt, co-founder of The Waltham Times, replied, “I don’t want government funding the news. We have a business plan, we’re optimistic.”
Pratt and June Kinoshita, another Waltham Times co-founder, detailed
- the structure of the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization;
- the stories the Times will report, which will include coverage of local news, arts, culture and sports;
- how it will build its staff;
- its plan to publish a weekly print newspaper next year, if local business show strong interest in advertising; and
- how residents can support the Times.
Following remarks by several Waltham residents, the forum closed with a lively discussion with audience members, moderated by Betsey Dalbeck. It focused on stories residents would like the Times to cover concerning city government, schools, housing and development, local businesses, health and safety and anything else on their minds.
Kinoshita thanked the museum for hosting the event and the sponsors that provided refreshments served after the forum: Del’s Coffee, Rancatore’s Ice Cream, Karibu Restaurant, La Castellana Bakery, Pizzi Farms, Not Your Average Joe’s, John Brewer’s Tavern and Hannaford’s.
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Photo by J. Kinoshita. Keynote speaker Ellen Clegg. Photo by David Rosen. 
Waltham High School students Maria and Tronilla helped out at the registration desk. Photo by David Rosen. 
Photo by Lecia Whitlock. 
Waltham Times co-founder June Kinoshita. Photo by David Rosen. 
Bob Marcou was one of the featured community speakers. Photo by David Rosen. 
Audience member suggesting topics the news should cover. Photo by David Rosen. 
Audience member suggesting topics the news should cover. Photo by David Rosen. 
Delicious goodies from Not Your Average Joe’s, La Castellana Bakery, John Brewer’s Tavern, Karibu restaurant, Pizzi’s Farm. Photo by Lecia Whitlock. 
Pastries from La Castellana bakery. Photo by Lecia Whitlock. 
Awesome Del’s coffee! Photo by Lecia Whitlock. 
Joe Rancatore scooped so much ice cream with his signature hot fudge sauce. Photo by J. Kinoshita.