The decline of local journalism has been one of the most disturbing developments affecting the cause of good governance in recent years. Fortunately, as local news rooms continue closing shop and laying off reporters, a number of organizations and philanthropists have stepped forward with plans to help the industry.
The latest effort comes from McClatchy News Service and Google. The two companies have announced a joint initiative known as the Compass Experiment “which will provide local news coverage to three mid-sized communities in the US that currently suffer from a dearth of sources of information,” Engadget reports.
This is a three-year program aimed at fostering transparency, accountability, and civic engagement in some of America's most vulnerable communities. The news will be exclusively digital. The three cities have not yet been named but must have populations of less than 500,000.
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