"Community Newspaper Under Siege"

Question

"Community Newspaper Under Siege"
by Tim Grobaty

Last February, just moments after the president declared that the media is “the enemy of the American people,” a friend and nowformer colleague of mine spun around in his chair and proclaimed, or rather predicted (Andrew mostly spoke in prophecies), that“journalists will be killed because of this.”

So, here we are, just a little over four months later, mourning the deaths of fi ve newsroom employees—four journalists and anadvertising assistant—at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland.

The shooter reportedly had a grudge against the newspaper going back long before the president’s incendiary words, and it’s certainlyunclear that those words had any infl uence on the shooter’s motives, but nevertheless, these are times when a growing number ofpeople are feeling emboldened to act on long-subsumed biases and hatreds.

For the record, the media is not the enemy of the American people; that’s one of the more dangerous of the lies that are fl ooding thecountry today. Rather, the media, especially in the form of small community newspapers, is among the American people’s best friendsand vigilant guardians.

In little communities all across the country, journalists from small newspapers—mostly weeklies—are the reader’s neighbors. Theylive where their readers live, shop where their readers shop, share their readers’ concerns.

In this era where bitter gossip and unfounded and malicious rumors travel across the internet at hyperspeed, the tangible and veryreal connection between a community newspaper and the neighborhoods it covers is crucial to the health of its readership. The bestare still trusted, staffed with tireless and invariably underpaid reporters and editors who are charged with sifting through thecyberchatter and carefully researching and curating the news.

A photo shows several rolled up newspapers.
Steve Schuh, the County Executive of AnneArundel County, Maryland, holds a copy ofthe Capital Gazette as he is interviewed theday after a gunman killed fi ve people andinjured two others at the newspaper’soffi ces, in Annapolis, Maryland. Photo byJoshua Roberts/Reuters

It’s bad enough that newspapers are endangered by the economics of everyday life in which manyreaders no longer want to pay for their news when it is widely distributed for free on the internet.Until the mid-1990s, papers fi lled newsracks on every corner and the fi rst sound in suburbiaeach morning was the thwack of newspapers being delivered to virtually every house. Newspapersubscriptions were a staple of every family’s budget. Today, nothing scares off today’s readersquicker than a paywall.

To add to the woes is the fact that many politicians see the media as overzealous watchdogs. Andthey’re right to think so; their fear is warranted, because that’s what the small newspapers do sowell: Keep a steady eye on the opportunistic city government, the shady school board, the double-dipping water commissioner. Andthere’s a direct relationship between a town’s size and its paper: The smaller the city, the more important its paper is to thecommunity.

In his eloquent (and, of course funny) piece on the importance of community papers, John Oliver said, “Not having reporters atgovernment meetings is like a teacher leaving her room of seventh graders to supervise themselves.”

The venerable Capital Gazette lost some crucial, valuable, knowledgeable and dedicated journalists in the Thursday shooting,including Gerald Fischman, who worked there for more than 25 years; John McNamara, who had put in more than 20 years; RobHiaasen, a veteran reporter who worked for 15 years at the Baltimore Sun before joining the Capital Gazette in 2010; and WendiWinters, who wrote articles for the paper for a decade before joining the staff in 2013.

The massacre will undoubtedly prompt the paper to redouble its mission to inform its readership. And remarks by politicians about theevils of the media that serve to discredit the news to provide cover for their own misdeeds and intemperate behavior will do nothingbut increase the media’s vigilance.

Soldiers die, but the battle rages on.

Question
Use the passage to answer the question.

What is the author’s central argument in this article?

(1 point)
Responses

The Capital Gazette shooting is another instance in a deadly trend that impacts members of the media throughout America.
The Capital Gazette shooting is another instance in a deadly trend that impacts members of the media throughout America.

Small newspapers, which are crucial to communities everywhere, are endangered by violent rhetoric and other factors.
Small newspapers, which are crucial to communities everywhere, are endangered by violent rhetoric and other factors.

Government officials are afraid of small community newspapers because they are devoted to exposing lies and corruption at a local level.
Government officials are afraid of small community newspapers because they are devoted to exposing lies and corruption at a local level.

News media outlets are in danger of extinction due to an increasing unwillingness to pay for news, as well as a lack of trust.
News media outlets are in danger of extinction due to an increasing unwillingness to pay for news, as well as a lack of trust.
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GPT-4o mini · Answer

The author's central argument in this article is:

Small newspapers, which are crucial to communities everywhere, are endangered by violent rhetoric and other factors.

This option captures the essence of the author's concerns about the implications of violent rhetoric on community newspapers and their importance to local communities.