On January 18, at noon, the League will host a virtual presentation on the League of Women Voters of Washington Education Fund’s study, The Decline of Local News and Its Impact on Democracy The study focuses on the closure of more than two dozen Washington newspapers, the loss of more than two-thirds of the state’s newspaper editors and reporters, large cutbacks in news coverage, and significant decreases in circulation and readership. The League never advocates for an issue before first conducting a study. This study was done as part of a League consensus process. Now local Leagues throughout Washington will begin their consensus processes that ultimately will help determine if the League should develop a policy to support local news.
This presentation is FREE and open to the public but Registration is required. It will be recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel.
Click here to register.
Featured speakers, Brier Dudley and Mike Gallagher will discuss the current state of journalism and potential solutions to the crisis.
Brier Dudley is the editor of The Seattle Times’ Save the Free Press Initiative. At the Times since 1998, he previously covered technology and was a member of the newspaper’s editorial board. A graduate of Whitman College, he completed an Asia Pacific Journalism fellowship at the East-West Center, studied film making, and was a staff member at The News Tribune and the Yakima Herald-Republic.
Mike Gallagher, former Daily Record Managing Editor and graduate of University of Washington, has 35-plus years of experience in newspapers, performing every job from a beat reporter, photographer, and page designer to managing editor. He has been working for the Daily Record for a combined 12 years, including 10 as managing editor. He also worked six years as editor for the Northern Kittitas County Tribune. In 2007, he received an honorable mention for his humor writing in the National Society for Newspaper Columnists contest. Gallagher, who has won numerous awards for his columns, including a second-place award in the same contest in 2001, said he’s written humor throughout his newspaper career. Gallagher has written his “Nation of Mike” column every Saturday for the Record, in addition to writing most Daily Record editorials.
View a 3-minute video focused on the study.
Additional sources of information on the study include:
State League to Host Virtual Presentation on Jan. 21
A statewide virtual presentation is also scheduled for January 21, 2023. The presentation will take place on Zoom with time for questions and answers and registration is required. Visit LWVWA to register.
Seattle Times Article
Seattle Times, Voice for the Free Press, published an article by Brier Dudley, New study documents Washington’s local news and democracy crisis, about the study on November 16, 2022.