It’s a story we all know too well.
Newspapers that served local communities for generations are now “ghost newspapers,” with no local staff.
But news startups across the region — including Community News Brief in Macomb, The Burlington Beacon, and Pen City Current in Fort Madison — have launched to fill voids.
Now, there’s a new startup in Galesburg, called Galesburg Community News. It’s a non-profit digital news source that plans to focus on non-partisan coverage in four main areas — business, education, government, and arts and events. The news sources also plans to provide crime and courts coverage.
Editor-in-chief Deborah Moreno said Galesburg Community News aims to “add another layer” of news coverage in Galesburg, which also has two locally-owned radio stations, WGIL and TSPR, with local news staff and the weekly print newspaper, The Burg.
“The more news we have in a community, the more voices and perspectives, I think we will be a stronger community and healthier,” said Moreno, a former newspaper reporter and columnist who has freelanced for TSPR.
Moreno, who has additional experience in business and academia, was also a longtime subscriber to the Galesburg Register-Mail, after working there in the late 1990s. That newspaper still exists but hasn’t had local news staff in several years.
Moreno said a group of people concerned about losing a major source of news in Galesburg was already working to establish a local non-profit print news source when she got on board.
“I think in the beginning, even before I became involved, I think the enthusiasm was maybe more about a concern. It wasn't enthusiasm then. It was a little bit of fear, probably, because those of us in the news business and journalism understand the importance of the Fourth Estate,” Moreno said.
Galesburg Community News was launched with funds from Galesburg Community Foundation and other community donations. It has paid, part-time reporters for now, but with community support, Moreno says it will grow – and they hope to expand coverage into Knox County as well.
The 501(c)(3) organization is governed by a local board.
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