This is in response to Fred Thys’s recent article “Who really cares about a town election?”
A Bloomberg News article caught my attention. It covered survey results from newspapers representing 246 elections over two decades showing that cities with fewer reporters see fewer people running for office and fewer people voting. Other surveys show similar results.
A common thread in the surveys: If you don’t know that there’s an election, don’t know what’s at stake in the election or know anything about the people running, why would you bother to vote?
Without local news, people resort to social media but that’s a problem in these fractious times which cause news skepticism.
Until the arrival of the Plymouth Independent we had lived in a news vacuum, and I see that as one of the major reasons for Plymouth’s low voter turnout.
Everyone can do something about it by financially supporting the Plymouth Independent. Ninety percent of readers do not contribute – that’s way too high.
It’s critical that we keep local news strong. Consider how much you’d pay for newspaper subscriptions. The Plymouth Independent’s continued success deserves better than a 10 percent contribution rate.
Ed Russell