Commentary: Local Journalism Faces New Blow as Statewide Public Media Cuts Loom

LarryInFishers.com

I recently posted a podcast interview with Braydyn Bear-Lents, a recent Indiana University journalism graduate who launched an online news site to serve the small southwestern Indiana city of Loogootee. His effort highlights a growing concern across the country—especially in rural areas—about the rise of “news deserts,” where access to reliable local news is scarce or nonexistent.

Now, Indiana is bracing for another hit to its already fragile local journalism landscape.

Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations (IPBS) announced this week that it will eliminate its entire statewide team of reporters and editors at the end of the year. The move comes after the Indiana General Assembly eliminated state funding for IPBS, and as federal support for public media also appears to be in jeopardy.

Mark Newman, executive director of IPBS, issued a statement Tuesday confirming the cuts and calling them a direct result of being defunded by the legislature. IPBS has long maintained a Statehouse bureau and a team of statewide reporters whose work is shared across Indiana’s network of public broadcasting stations.

According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, the following journalists are among those affected:

  • Brandon Smith, longtime Statehouse reporter and co-host of Indiana Week in Review on WFYI

  • Abigail Ruhman, health reporter

  • Rebecca Thiele, energy and environmental reporter

  • Lauren Chapman, digital editor

  • Timoria Cunningham, labor and employment reporter

These journalists are among the best in the field, known for their in-depth, nonpartisan reporting on issues that matter to all Hoosiers.

With state and likely federal support disappearing, IPBS says individual member stations will do their best to maintain local reporting capacity. But there is little doubt that the loss of a centralized, statewide news team will leave a major gap in coverage.

This is a sad day—not only for Indiana journalism but for the public that depends on accurate, thoughtful reporting. The reporters affected by these cuts are top-notch professionals. Losing them is a loss for all of us.