EDITORIAL: Journalism has no home for gatekeeping in 2025
Freelance and citizen journalists are not the reason for the demise of newspapers in America, but rather corporate downsizing and hedge fund buyouts.
Freelance and citizen journalists are not the reason for the demise of newspapers in America, but rather corporate downsizing and hedge fund buyouts.
An opinion piece written by our summer correspondent Jacob Hamm in the closing moments of the spring 2024 semester in the Daily Eastern News has been on my mind for a while. But it's not in my mind for any reason that he or anyone else may be thinking. In fact, five of the six candidates running for President are old as hell, hence my nickname for them: the Dementia Dinosaurs. Sure, while the Democratic and Republican primaries have pretty […]
I initially had it all planned to have this published yesterday, but a Letter to the Editor sent to local (Montgomery County, Illinois) newspapers two weeks ago was never published. So I am publishing it here. This week, Montgomery County voters and the people of Illinois will vote in the primary to determine who will be on the ballot in November. However, the people of this fine county should know that Republicans have intentionally censored the ballot by not allowing […]
In his famous Thanks a Thousand project, author A.J. Jacobs takes on a simple yet daunting task: thanking every individual who played a role in making a single cup of coffee. The project took months to complete, sending Jacobs across the globe to thank more than 1,000 people for making his morning ritual possible. The results of this project are a testament to our interconnected world, one that relies on skills, talents, and knowledge that are too often taken for […]
This editorial was written at the request of the National Newspaper Association and distributed nationwide in celebration of National Newspaper Week. “Newspapers are dead,” a solemn but dubious audience of students heard. “In 10 years, they’ll be gone altogether.” We’ve all heard the grim assessment. But it didn’t come this year, when corporate greed downsized far too many newsrooms. It didn’t come 15 years ago, when social media began to cocoon us into echo chambers that let us hear only […]
The 2022 election has been considered "the most important election of all time." The end result last week proved once again that it most certainly was not. There was no red wave, and there really wasn't the dominance that Democrats purported to have. We're one week past the election, and the Democrats and Republicans are continuing their incessant bickering. It, unfortunately, will not be any better with the gridlock of a Republican-majority House and a Democrat-majority Senate. The toxicity has […]
The looming darkness this weekend has nothing to do with us reverting back to standard time. That's a short-term problem of little importance. The looming darkness rather comes from the upcoming midterm elections on Tuesday. A looming storm that has been plagued with factually incorrect political ads, a cavalcade of clowns as candidates, and mudslinging. As usual. We're told in our elections that there are only two choices to select: Democrat and Republican. In most cases, that's wrong. In 35 […]
For over five years, Heartland Newsfeed has delivered a quantity and quality to its reporting. This often rivals with the print media outlets in the area. With the exception of occasional contributors and the news partnerships we work with, this news operation has mostly been solo. I've witnessed corporations devouring small, local newspapers from mom-and-pop operations. They often strip down local news staff down to nothing, forcing others to carry a workload they weren't trained for. The ideals and foresight […]
The following is a guest editorial by Lake Land College president Dr. Josh Bullock. As the nation celebrates Career and Technical Month this February, I would like to share how Lake Land College is on the leading edge of developing apprenticeships that can often be a golden solution for creating a talented pipeline of skilled employees and enabling area businesses to thrive. Traditionally, apprenticeships are associated with careers in trade unions. However, the reality is that apprenticeships are expanding to […]