The show will look at the impact of private equity on local news
Bloomington, Ind., November 10, 2023 — Earlier this year, the WFIU/WTIU News team received a $15,000 grant from the Poynter Institute and the Omidyar Network to investigate the influence private equity has had on local news. In recent years, newspapers in south-central Indiana have seen steep circulation and staffing declines since being purchased by companies with strong private equity ties.
With the help of the grant, the WFIU/WTIU News team launched an investigative reporting project called Paper Cuts to track the power of media conglomerates and private firms over Indiana papers and document the limited coverage of local matters that remains.
After months of research, WFIU/WTIU News will present its findings from the Paper Cuts reporting project during a live Noon Edition broadcast. The event takes place on Friday, November 17 at the Monroe County History Center and is free and open to the public. Doors will open at 11:30 a.m. with the live broadcast beginning at 12 p.m.
The program will discuss what the ownership changes meant for the communities served by these Hoosier newspapers. Noon Edition will also look at what has been lost and how democracy struggles when no reporters are there to share what local officials are doing.
Noon Edition will take questions from the audience in attendance at the Monroe County History Center, as well as through X @NoonEdition and email at news@indianapublicmedia.org. The event will be broadcast on WFIU at 103.7 FM in Bloomington and stream on Facebook Live.
Learn more about Paper Cuts and the live Noon Edition broadcast at wfiu.org/papercuts.
Noon Edition is made possible with support from Bloomington Health Foundation, Estate & Downsizing Specialists, and Smithville.
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