On today’s episode we spoke with former News Tribune reporter Debbie Cafazzo and Matt Martinez, director of content for KNKX, about what it might look like if a local group of people banded together to buy our beloved (but suffering) hometown paper. We also discussed another option: starting a nonprofit, online-only news outlet that would be laser-focused on Pierce County news.
Martinez helped lead KNKX (formerly KPLU) as it raised $7 million to buy its independence from Pacific Lutheran University. Before taking a buyout in 2017, Cafazzo spent 24 years at the TNT.
For more background (and fun), I suggest reading the Credit Risk Monitor report on The McClatchy Company’s financial outlook, linked below. It paints a quick but illuminating picture of what’s going on with the TNT’s parent company and why there’s so much concern about continued cuts to our local newsroom.
Producer: Doug Mackey
Links:
Credit Risk Monitor: McClatchy continues to struggle in the newspaper industry
The Seattle Times: KPLU officially begins broadcasting as KNKX
The Seattle Times: Tacoma News Tribune to lay off dozens of printing employees
Nonprofit Quarterly: Where Local Media Falters, Community-Based Nonprofit Models Step In
Politico: This is How a Newspaper Dies
Poynter: As Wall Street sours on McClatchy, a longtime lender is now also buying up its stock
Sponsor
Citizen Tacoma is proudly sponsored by Pacific Lutheran University and Alaska Airlines