Local Journalism Matters

More than 200 people gathered at Pole Barn Chic on Sept. 25 for “A Legacy and Vision: 50 Years of Illinois Times.” Longtime owner Fletcher Farrar recounted the early days of the publication and milestones along the way. Publisher Michelle Ownbey then addressed the future plans, designed to address the community’s need for more local journalism.

Mark Twain once said, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” The same could be said for newspapers.

Yes, the statistics about journalism in America can sound daunting. In the past 20 years, the U.S. has lost 70% of its local journalists and 3,200 newsrooms. Recent reports have highlighted the furious pace of mergers and acquisitions and the rise of “ghost newspapers” that exist in name only, with little true local reporting.

Here in Springfield, we’ve felt those changes firsthand. Two of our editorial staff, Dean Olsen and Daron Walker, both joined Illinois Times in recent years after more than two decades at The State Journal-Register. Daron started there in 1996 as a copy editor, and Dean was hired in 1999 as a reporter. At that time, the SJ-R newsroom was thriving, employing about 300 people overall, including roughly 70 in editorial, with more than 30 reporters and a dozen full-time photographers, plus editors and copy editors.

Their experience is a reminder of both the strength of our local news traditions and the urgency of preserving it for the future.

Illinois Times was founded 50 years ago as an alternative voice, offering fresh perspectives and in-depth reporting on the issues that mattered most here at home. Today, we remain true to that mission, but we have also grown into something larger:  a trusted source of local news, civic information and community connection for central Illinois.

The rise of social media and instant information has not changed our basic need to understand what is happening around us. In fact, it has made the role of professional, fact-checked journalism more important than ever. Word travels fast online, but facts do not always travel with it.

That is where Illinois Times and our team step in – to provide context, accountability and the full story.

Local news matters most when it is close to home:  the school board shaping our children’s education, the city council deciding how our tax dollars are spent, the park district planning the places where our families gather. These are the decisions that can affect our daily lives, and they deserve the kind of thorough coverage that only local journalists can provide.

Across the country, communities are recognizing this need and coming together to support stronger, more sustainable local news. That’s why the national initiative Press Forward was launched – to bring new philanthropic resources to local journalism. And Springfield was fortunate to be one of the very first six communities in the nation selected to be a local Press Forward chapter.

This work is being led by the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln, whose mission statement is connecting people who care with causes that matter. In November of 2023, the Community Foundation launched Press Forward Springfield, our local chapter of the national philanthropic movement to strengthen community-based journalism. The cornerstone of our local Press Forward effort is the Patrick F. Coburn Press Forward Endowment Fund.

Many of you may remember Pat Coburn. He spent his entire career at The State Journal- Register, retiring as publisher. Coburn died in 2022, but thanks to his generous estate gift, matched dollar-for-dollar by the MacArthur Foundation, this endowment now stands at over $2 million.

In 2024, the Community Foundation made its first grant from the Coburn Endowment to support a study of the local news and information landscape across its eight-county service area in central Illinois. The American Journalism Project led that work, and one thing stood out about the findings and recommendations in AJP’s report. After exhaustive rounds of market research, surveys, interviews and analysis, time and time again the most cited “shining light” for local coverage in our community was Illinois Times.

John Stremsterfer, president and CEO of the Community Foundation, said, “I want to emphasize one point: local matters, local ownership matters, local governance matters, local news matters. It matters for the quality, the quantity and the character of the news we consume. That principle is at the heart of our mission at the Community Foundation, and it’s why we are so excited to be part of this announcement.

“While I can’t share all the specifics just yet, I can say this: the Community Foundation is deeply committed to fulfilling the goals of Press Forward Springfield. That means direct support for Illinois Times and more broadly, sustained investment in local news and information for years to come — through funding, partnerships and every tool at our disposal,” he said.

Press Forward is about ensuring that communities like ours have the strong, reliable journalism they need to thrive. That mission aligns perfectly with what Illinois Times has been working to do for the past 50 years.

But the truth is, we are stretched thin.

Our newsroom is small, and yet we are producing seven different publications that include Springfield Business Journal, Parent, ReGen, Visitor Guide, and Real Estate Review and Jobs, plus multiple websites, newsletters and social media channels – all while keeping Illinois Times in print every single week.

During the pandemic, when ad revenues plummeted and printing costs skyrocketed, we didn’t miss a single issue. We adapted quickly, creating new digital resources and daily updates to keep our community informed.

Today, our operations are sustainable – but not expandable. We simply don’t have the capacity to meet the community’s call for more reporters, more coverage and more local accountability.

That’s why I’m excited to announce that we’ve begun the process of converting to a nonprofit news organization, Local Journalism Matter, so that in addition to advertising revenue, we can also invite philanthropic support. This new model will allow us to grow:  to add new staff, expand our reporting and invest in the future.

We aren’t doing this work alone. We’re fortunate to be working closely with the American Journalism Project, a national leader in strengthening local news.

AJP partners with newsrooms across the country – launching new outlets where communities have no coverage, and helping legacy publications like ours transition to sustainable nonprofit models built for growth.

Our lead partner at AJP who serves as the director of emerging markets, Stephen George, shares his excitement for what we’re doing here in Springfield:

While we hope our conversion to a nonprofit news organization will take effect early in the new year, it’s hard to predict the exact timing for when the state and federal governments will act.

In the meantime, we are already building for the future.

Our goal is to add 10 new staff members over the next three years – strengthening our reporting, broadening our coverage and building the relationships that will sustain local journalism for the long term.

In July, we welcomed Zach Adams as our new digital media coordinator – a brand-new position for us.

Many of you know Zach from his photography business, 1221 Photography, or from seeing him at community events, ribbon cuttings, and protests. Now, he’s putting those skills to work full time with Illinois Times, handling photography, videography, our digital newsletters and online-only content.

Zach is also overseeing our new initiative with SeeGov, a nonprofit that helps residents track their local governments.

Through this partnership, Illinois Times now posts highlight reels of Springfield City Council and District 186 School Board meetings the very next day, making it easier for people to stay informed without sitting through hours of meetings or video.

We also welcomed Dilpreet Raju, our first Report for America corps member.

Report for America is a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover underreported issues. Dilpreet, a Schaumburg native and graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, had already covered the Statehouse with Capitol News Illinois, and we were thrilled when he chose to join us. We’re also applying for a second Report for America position in 2026.

This summer, we hosted a graduate intern from Medill, Maggie Dougherty, whose byline you may have seen in our pages. Even after her internship ended in August, she stayed on to finish reporting several important stories.

And we’ve expanded our leadership within our other publications as well. Holly Whisler, associate editor for Springfield Business Journal, has taken on a larger role overseeing the monthly publication and our four annual awards programs. We also plan to add a niche publications editor soon, which will free up more of my time to focus on Illinois Times.

As you can see, we’re already making important investments in people and innovation. But, to truly grow and meet the community’s call for more local news, we need your partnership.

For 50 years, Illinois Times has thrived because of the support of its readers, advertisers and partners. That support has carried us this far.

But to make the next 50 years possible, we need you.

We need individuals, businesses and organizations to join us – by advertising with us, by sharing our stories and by giving directly to help strengthen local news.

When you support Illinois Times, you are not just supporting a newspaper. You are ensuring that central Illinois continues to have the independent, fact-checked reporting it needs to stay informed, connected and engaged.

Local news only survives when the community believes in it. With your help, Illinois Times can keep growing – not just surviving – for the next 50 years and beyond.

Watch the video of the full presentations.

This article appears in 50th Anniversary special section.