If you’re old enough to remember the days when newspapers actually meant something to the community, you might remember the power of the local crusading columnist, the writers who would keep an eye on local politicians and alert the public to corruption and malfeasance, usually with a combination of wit and anger. Most big city papers had news columnists like that. A few – Mike Royko, Jimmy Breslin – became well-known outside their markets. But the bottom line was always that readers knew someone was on their side, watching, commenting, and not letting the politicians and bureaucrats get away with anything.
Those days are mostly gone, and the rough equivalent of the crusading columnist tends to be someone with a Substack or social media account. That’s not the same thing, because some writer with a Substack doesn’t have the audience the old-time columnists have. A look at the polls right now should tell you a lot about how little the public knows about what’s going on, even as the internet allows for an unlimited amount of information to flow. The problem is that there’s too much to process, and too much disinformation, and too few trusted news reporters and analysts to go around.
But that’s not to say that someone can’t fill those shoes. I can point to KUSA-TV Denver’s Kyle Clark as one example, a local reporter who’s building a national reputation for several reasons, not the least of which is how he handles debate moderation. Perhaps you saw the clips of his debate evisceration of Lauren Boebert on social media, but he’s also known for being tough on Democrats as well as Republicans.
He asks the tough questions, which tend to be those simple and obvious points from which other reporters and anchors shy away, and doesn’t stand for non-answers. (I’m writing this the day before the presidential debate, and I hope the right questions get asked and non-answers aren’t tolerated. We’ll see.)
He’s not alone. WFOR-TV Miami has Jim DeFede, a former Miami Herald and Miami New Times columnist and reporter who mines the spectacular corruption in local politics. Maybe you have someone like that in your market, someone who knows where the bodies are buried and isn’t afraid to go after the powerful.
Or maybe you don’t, which means there’s an opportunity, even for radio, newspapers, and podcasts. What’s missing in news coverage and talk radio are the reporters and hosts who don’t parrot conventional wisdom (or, worse, political party talking points) and instead take on the powerful and privileged, standing in for the audience, unconcerned with access. Anyone can commit talk radio, talking about the election exactly the way every other host does it.
It takes a particular talent to do the work of networking, research, and compiling the deep knowledge of local politics and customs and turn that into entertaining content.
Here’s your test: Who’s the news media personality whose name is synonymous with your market? If you can’t come up with anyone, that’s your opportunity. Go find that person. If that person works for another outlet, try and hire them away. If you can come up with that name and it’s someone on your staff, promote the hell out of that. And if that name is yours, congratulations, and keep doing what you’re doing.
You wanna attract an audience even though people are telling you that your medium is dead or dying? Make content that people in your market absolutely have to listen to, watch, or read to know what’s really going on in your area. There’s a huge opportunity to become the local news institution. Why not you?
Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
