Local journalism still matters. You just may not read much about that in the once-august Miami Herald..
The Miami Herald is losing its dedicated Miami City Hall reporter in another round of newsroom cuts. More than 90 unionized journalists and media workers across McClatchy publications were laid off, and questions remain about what those reductions could eventually mean for coverage of the Florida Keys.
Here in Key West, you still have a reporter watching City Hall.
Above the Fold shows up when the decisions are being made — not days later, and not simply when it is convenient. I read the contracts, follow the budgets, file the public records requests and ask the questions that sometimes make people in government uncomfortable.
And write the stories and edit the videos.
That work has taken readers inside everything from the city manager’s contract and reserve spending to police misconduct allegations, development battles, immigration battles, cruise-ship policy, youth sports funding and the decisions being made across Key West government.
But Key West is only part of the story.
With your support, Above the Fold can expand that same kind of reporting farther up the island chain — into Monroe County government, Marathon, Islamorada and the other agencies making decisions that affect taxpayers throughout the Florida Keys.
More meetings covered. More records examined. More contracts read. More tax dollars tracked. More public officials asked to explain their decisions.
Large news organizations are deciding that some local coverage no longer generates enough subscriber interest to justify the investment.
Above the Fold is making a different bet: that local government matters precisely because it is local — and that people will support journalism that actually shows up.
Become a paid subscriber for $8 a month or $80 a year.
Already subscribe — or don’t want another monthly or annual commitment? Make a one-time contribution to help fund public-records requests, travel, document research and the newsroom technology needed to expand coverage throughout the Keys.
Every subscription, donation and share helps put another set of eyes on your government.
Because when newspapers eliminate government reporters, the meetings do not stop. The contracts do not stop. The spending does not stop. The decisions do not stop.
Only the scrutiny does.
And the grift goes on.
Help make sure that doesn’t happen here.
