As nonprofits doing mission-driven work in Maine, The Nature Conservancy and Preble Street share some important values. Both of our organizations believe that the communities most affected by changes and events in the world around us must have a voice. Both organizations believe that those community perspectives need to reach a broad audience of Mainers to inform public conversations and decisions. And both organizations recognize how essential strong, independent local news is to achieving this.
Maine is lucky to have a variety of independent news outlets that provide in-depth coverage and reliable information about local issues, including the family-owned Bangor Daily News and nonprofits like Maine Public and The Maine Monitor.
The Masthead Maine family of newspapers — including the Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram, Brunswick’s Times Record, Lewiston’s Sun Journal, Waterville’s Morning Sentinel and Augusta’s Kennebec Journal, among others — have also raised vital awareness and educated readers around pressing community issues. With the announcement that ownership of these outlets will be changing, we believe it is critical that these publications remain under local stewardship and committed to upholding high journalistic standards for Maine news.
The Maine homelessness crisis is a primary example of why this is so important.
Homelessness is growing in Maine and across the country, and many solutions are on the table to address it. Maintaining regular coverage of the issues impacting our most vulnerable neighbors — like the need for more shelter beds in Maine, or the growing number of people experiencing food insecurity — helps maintain a dialogue across all stakeholders and allows different viewpoints to be raised and considered fairly and respectfully. Local journalists also can interact directly with people in the community and play a valuable role in lifting up underrepresented voices.
In the conservation sector, the Press Herald’s coverage of environmental news has provided a vital service to Mainers.
Reporting on how climate change is affecting our state — from major shifts in the maple sugaring season and ice fishing to increased road flooding and a warming Gulf of Maine — is critical to helping us all understand and navigate this new reality. The Press Herald has also provided thoughtful coverage of the growing landback movement in Maine, where land and access to land is being returned to the Wabanaki people. In 2021, when the Passamaquoddy Tribe reacquired Kuwesuwi Monihq, an island in Downeast Maine, the Press Herald’s coverage was clear and considered, centering tribal voices in telling the story of the return of this land.
One of the options for the ownership of the Portland Press Herald and the Masthead Maine family of newspapers is a nonprofit model. As mission-driven organizations, nonprofits fill many gaps in our society to achieve community goals that are not always as good of a fit for the private sector or public sectors. As the business model for news media deteriorates, a charitable model where the mission for local, honest, independent journalism is stewarded with the highest regard for transparency and public accountability is a promising solution.
Nonprofits only succeed when they earn and maintain public trust; a nonprofit media that upholds those values and contributes critical, unbiased reporting to the public arena has the potential to elevate communities coming together around shared concerns.
From housing to climate change and across the spectrum of issues, without local, independent, in-depth reporting, too many Mainers would remain in the dark about critical issues affecting our communities. That would leave them less able to engage meaningfully in democratic discourse and collaborative problem-solving. Independent media is essential to a thriving state, and we hope it is a central part of the future of the Masthead Maine family of newspapers.
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