For decades, corporate media consolidation has decimated local and independent news outlets. This has led media outlets to prioritize corporate profits over diverse content that actually resonates with readers, listeners, and viewers. Today, the American people have hundreds of channels to choose from, but the vast majority of those stations are spewing the same corporations-first message.

We've seen it with Sinclair Broadcasting buying up local television outlets. We've seen it with Gannett consolidating local papers. We've even seen consolidation with online outlets like Gawker Media, bought by a hedge fund only to be run into the ground.

That's why it's never been more important to seek out and support independent news agencies that report level-headed, fact-based news. In an era of sensationalized headlines designed to draw clicks rather than deliver facts, independent media outlets put readers first by reporting on what matters most to the majority of people - not just special-interest "corporate overlords."

Recently, McClatchy, the parent company of the Sacramento Bee, tried to tie reporters' pay to the number of clicks their stories received - and this is just one especially egregious example of a huge national problem. If we let that profit-over-people model continue to spread across the country, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative outfits like the Boston Globe's "Spotlight" team will be wiped out - and the news will be replaced by clickbait.

Independent media outlets are funded by everyday people like us instead of billionaires with an agenda. That means that instead of chasing clicks and advertising revenue - or running the same cut-and-paste consolidated pieces across the country - they can dedicate their reporting to policy-oriented commentary and hyperlocal issues that affect each of our lives.

Just like an independent media outlet, we're actually interested in learning your thoughts on this important issue, so please tell us now:

Are you frustrated by the mega-media conglomerates taking over the news?

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