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Friend,
For 135 years, the Journal Tribune of Biddeford, Maine, covered the local news and community events in towns all around southern Maine.
But two weeks ago, on Saturday, October 12, the Journal Tribune published its last edition, leaving the community without a local paper for the first time since 1884.
There were tears in the newsroom, and somber words written about the important role the newspaper had played in the community for more than a century. But at the end of the day, only one thing mattered: the Journal Tribune wasn't sufficiently profitable, and so it went out of business.
It's just the latest of thousands of newspapers to go out of business in communities from Biddeford to Pittsburgh to Denver to Oakland. As newspapers close down and journalist jobs are eliminated, our democracy is paying the price.
Donald Trump is getting away with things that would have been unthinkable for any other president—in large part because of the decline of trust in the media. We don't even know what's going on in many state and local governments anymore because there are no longer city hall reporters to dig up the facts.
There's a reason that journalism is the only profession specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. It's because the free press—the Fourth Estate—is essential for a functioning democracy.
Common Dreams will never be shut down because we weren't "profitable." We're nonprofit, independent journalists who rely on donations from our readers. But with just three days remaining in our Fall Campaign, we need you to step up.
Will you donate $5, $20, $50, or $100 to help meet our Fall Campaign goal? Every little bit helps, and with your support, we'll never join the ranks of news outlets that went out of business.
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