This attack is just the latest blow against local journalism

[Commentary] The attack on the Capital Gazette in Annapolis (MD) horrified the nation, but especially those of us in journalism. On a personal level, we mourn the loss of five devoted colleagues who were working tirelessly, at modest wages, to provide a vital service to their community. More broadly, though, this attack is merely the latest blow inflicted on local journalism — an institution that, despite its fundamental importance to our democracy, has been experiencing serious decline.

There are several ways we might reverse the decline of local news. Philanthropy can play a role. So, too, can the federal government, which can take actions to make local news broadly profitable again — such as forcing social media platforms to distribute a much bigger share of ad revenue they make on news stories to the organizations that originally gathered the news. It’s bad enough that reporters at local papers such as the Capital Gazette already have to endure low pay and long hours. That they now have to worry about being targeted for violence is just another ominous sign of the decline of our democracy.

[Paul Glastris is editor in chief of the Washington Monthly.]