Introduction | The American Dispatch Podcast

As a young boy 20 years ago, I landed on page two of the Sharon Advocate, the local newspaper in my hometown of 18,000 people in Sharon, Massachusetts. Sadly, that newspaper is now a shell of what it once was. Its story is like many other local/regional news outlets in the United States. Since 2004, close to 2,000 newspapers in the United States have shuttered. Local radio stations and television stations are also suffering. Thousands of journalists have lost their jobs. We are now facing "news deserts" in this country, where entire counties don't have a newspaper. The American Dispatch Podcast is a chance to discuss the crisis of local and regional journalism. I'll be interviewing local journalists and media figures from across the country to dive deep into understanding the roots of the problem and what can be done about it. This podcast is also a chance to highlight the important work that local reporters are doing and drive either subscriptions/donations to their website/newspaper/podcast/etc. Going forward, you can expect to find links to the work of the individuals I interview. Thank you to David Renda and Kevin MacLeod for the royalty-free music. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amdipodcast.substack.com