Protect Community News!

Community members, elected representatives, and civic-minded investors

Our local newspapers are under attack. We’re looking for some civic-minded individuals to help save American democracy. Together, we are working to dismantle the forces undermining independent journalism nationwide.

To: Community members, elected representatives, and civic-minded investors
From: [Your Name]

Our local newspapers are under attack. We’re looking for some civic-minded individuals to help save American democracy. Will you join us?

We are the workers who produce news necessary to keep our communities informed. We are community leaders, who realize that access to local news is under existential threat. We are investors dedicated to the well-being of our country. We share a vision of more and better coverage of the stories that are important to us all. We want a well-informed public and a strong democracy.

Together, we are working to dismantle the forces undermining independent journalism nationwide.

Alden Global Capital is the infamous hedge fund that controls Tribune Publishing. They are doing what they do best: slashing newsroom costs to increase executive and shareholder profits. We need community leaders and investors in each of our cities to step up and save our newsrooms.

Journalists promote truth and transparency, root out corruption and hold elected officials accountable. We inform, enlighten and entertain. We need owners who value vibrant local journalism over stripping profit to stash overseas. Will you help us?

Right now, we need community heroes who are working to remove predators like Alden from the news business. We need more leaders like Patrick Soon-Shiong, who bought the Los Angeles Times in 2018, and who see long term goals where others see short-term enrichment. We need visionaries like Stewart Bainum, a business owner and philanthropist who created a nonprofit that will save The Baltimore Sun and invest in the city and its citizens.

We must save Tribune Publishing’s newspapers from Alden’s relentless slashing of staff and resources.

The time is now. We need a few people with means to take bold action to protect and allow us to continue our work as guardians of good journalism. We need all of our neighbors to step up and make our shared vision a reality.

All of us who understand the value of local news need to work now toward building sustainable community institutions. Will you join us?

Signed,

Baltimore Sun Guild
Chesapeake NewsGuild
Chicago Tribune Guild
Design Production Studio Guild
Hartford Courant Guild
Morning Call Guild
New York Daily News Guild
Orlando Sentinel Guild
Tidewater Media Guild
Tribune Content Agency Guild