Local News's Persistent Investigations Build Community Resilience

The enduring, often unglamorous, work of local news is the bedrock of informed communities, yet its practitioners are left to navigate a landscape fundamentally altered by the digital age. This conversation with Frank Scandale, News Director at the Asbury Park Press, reveals not just the historical sweep of journalism from typewriters to Twitter, but the profound, non-obvious consequences of its digital transition. While national outlets parachute in for headline events, it's the local reporters who remain, facing the lingering fallout and the complex, often frustrating, fight for public records. This deep dive is essential for anyone invested in the health of local democracy, offering a clear-eyed view of where the industry stumbled and, crucially, where its future resilience lies--in the patient, difficult work of investigative journalism that national platforms cannot replicate.

The Unseen Aftermath: Local News's Enduring Role in Tragedy

The instinct of national news organizations is to descend upon moments of crisis, capture the immediate spectacle, and then depart, leaving the deeper, longer-term impact to fester. Frank Scandale, with his decades of experience, has witnessed this dynamic firsthand, from Columbine to 9/11. While national media had the resources to "parachute in" and cover the initial shock, it was the local newsrooms that were "left there" to grapple with the ensuing anger, retribution, and the slow, painstaking work of documenting the human cost. This isn't just about reporting facts; it's about being embedded in a community that is reeling.

"The aftermath was, we were left there. When two weeks later, when it died down for real, we were the ones left, and there was a lot of anger and retribution that was still happening, and we were it. So the local media was there on the ground for the next year, or forever."

This enduring presence transforms the nature of local reporting. It necessitates a profound mindfulness of the community's sensitivities and a commitment to covering the residual effects that national outlets simply do not. Scandale recounts how, after Columbine, The Denver Post had to pursue records about friendly fire incidents, a pursuit that reopened wounds but was vital for journalistic accountability. Similarly, in the aftermath of 9/11, the Asbury Park Press undertook the immense task of writing obituaries for every New Jersey resident lost, a deeply local effort born from proximity and a large, albeit shrinking, newsroom. This is the crucial difference: national news covers the event; local news lives with its consequences. The implication is that the true value of local journalism isn't in its speed, but in its persistence, a quality that builds trust and provides essential oversight long after the headlines fade.

The Slow Burn of Deep-Dives: Building Advantage in the Digital Age

In an era obsessed with page views and immediate digital gratification, the commitment to "deep-dot journalism"--investigative work that takes months to yield results--is increasingly rare, yet it represents a critical pathway to sustained relevance and competitive advantage. Frank Scandale champions this approach, viewing it as a necessary counterpoint to the commodity news coverage that dominates the digital landscape. The Asbury Park Press, under his guidance, prioritizes these deep dives, understanding that they offer value that cannot be found elsewhere.

Consider the investigation into the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation. This was not a story that could be broken in a day; it took three months of dedicated effort to uncover fraud and waste within an agency ostensibly designed to root out such problems. This patient, methodical approach, utilizing tools like OPRA (Open Public Records Act), allows local journalists to expose malfeasance that would otherwise remain hidden. The payoff isn't immediate clicks, but a deeper, more informed public and a stronger check on power.

"So I figured that's the way I wanted to go: enterprise things that nobody knows about, not the commodity news coverage day-to-day, which is critical, but I like to go a little deeper using OPRA, FOIA, all those tools that can get you behind the scenes. It's something that's being short-changed in this day of, you know, let's get page views and the digital world."

This dedication to time-intensive journalism creates a moat around local news organizations. Competitors focused on chasing quick digital metrics cannot easily replicate this kind of in-depth reporting. The delayed payoff is precisely what makes it a sustainable advantage. While conventional wisdom pushes for rapid content production, Scandale's experience suggests that the real value lies in the slow burn of investigative work, building a reputation for thoroughness and accountability that can, in turn, drive subscriptions--the true "holy grail" of local news. This requires a shift in mindset, valuing depth over breadth and recognizing that true impact often requires patience that the digital world rarely affords.

The Public's Right to Know: Navigating the Obstacles to Transparency

The fight for public records is a cornerstone of local journalism, yet it is a battle fraught with frustration and systemic resistance. Frank Scandale highlights the arduous process of using tools like OPRA and FOIA, emphasizing that the average citizen simply lacks the time, resources, and expertise to navigate these systems effectively. This is where local reporters play an indispensable role, acting as the eyes and ears for communities that are often kept in the dark about how their governments operate and where their tax dollars are spent.

Scandale recounts an experiment for Sunshine Week where citizens were paired with reporters to file open records requests. The outcome was eye-opening: even with journalistic guidance, the citizens encountered significant roadblocks, with agencies claiming no records existed for events that had been widely reported. This illustrates a systemic issue: transparency is often an aspiration, not a given, and the mechanisms designed to ensure it can be cumbersome and easily circumvented.

"So the lesson to the audience, to the Joes and Janes of the world, was, 'You just can't get this information.' And they were so frustrated. They had jobs, they didn't have time to do this, which is what we do, right? Because you're going to go to work, you got to feed your kids, you got to pay the mortgage, you got to fix your house..."

The implication is that the decline of local newsrooms directly correlates with a weakening of democratic oversight. When fewer journalists are available to file these requests, to follow up, to appeal denials, and to understand the legal nuances, critical information about government spending, public safety, and local policy simply remains inaccessible. Scandale's current efforts to ascertain the number of ICE agents in New Jersey and gun seizures on the Turnpike underscore this ongoing struggle. The battle for transparency is daily, and it requires dedicated professionals who understand the laws, have the tenacity to pursue information, and are willing to invest the time--effort that most citizens cannot afford. This highlights a critical systemic consequence: the erosion of local news directly undermines the public's ability to hold power accountable.

The Digital Reckoning: Missteps and the Path Forward

The transition to the digital age proved to be a particularly painful and, in many ways, failed experiment for the newspaper industry. Frank Scandale reflects on the fundamental misunderstandings that plagued this shift, leading to a business model that, for many, proved unsustainable. A key misstep, he notes, was the widespread practice of offering content for free online, devaluing the journalism itself and making it difficult to establish a viable subscription base later on.

The industry also struggled with internal discord and a lack of clear digital strategy. Unlike more consolidated industries, the thousands of newsrooms across the country were left to figure out the digital world independently, often with insufficient resources and a lack of personnel with the necessary technical and digital-native understanding. The initial approach often involved separate print and digital teams, a model that quickly proved inefficient.

"Again, I think we, the first thing I remember when we did is everything was put up for free. There was no paywall, there was no talk about paying for it for a lot of papers. They, that's what they did. They just said, 'Well, we have to put it on this platform.'"

Furthermore, the allure of higher salaries in the tech and private sectors siphoned away talent that could have helped newspapers adapt. Scandale recalls the early days of The Bergen Record's website, which began as a marketing tool rather than a news facility. The advent of platforms like Twitter, with its antithesis to traditional journalistic depth, further complicated the landscape. Despite these missteps, Scandale remains cautiously optimistic. He points to emerging models like the Baltimore Banner and ProPublica, and the rise of Substack newsletters by seasoned investigative reporters, as evidence that innovation is possible. The key, he suggests, lies in scaling these successful approaches and attracting individuals committed to the fundamentals of verifiable, in-depth journalism--the kind that protects democracy by ensuring citizens know what their government is doing.

Key Action Items:

• Prioritize Deep-Dive Journalism: Dedicate resources and time to investigative projects that offer unique value and cannot be easily replicated by national outlets or digital aggregators. This builds a loyal subscriber base and a distinct competitive advantage.
  • Immediate Action: Identify 1-2 potential investigative topics for the next quarter.
  • Longer-term Investment: Develop a sustainable process for identifying, funding, and executing deep-dive projects.
• Leverage Public Records Laws Proactively: Systematically pursue OPRA/FOIA requests not just for reactive stories, but as a strategic tool to uncover systemic issues and inform the public about government operations and spending.
  • Immediate Action: File 2-3 proactive public records requests related to local government or institutional spending.
  • This pays off in 6-12 months: Build a library of data and insights that can inform future reporting and establish a reputation for accountability.
• Foster Community Engagement Through Transparency: Actively involve the public in the newsgathering process, perhaps through citizen-reporter partnerships for records requests, to underscore the value of local journalism and its role in democratic participation.
  • Immediate Action: Explore a pilot program pairing a reporter with a community member for a specific records request.
• Invest in Digital Skills and Strategy: Ensure newsroom staff have the training and support needed to navigate the digital landscape effectively, moving beyond mere page view optimization to build sustainable digital subscription models.
  • This pays off in 12-18 months: Develop a clear digital strategy focused on subscriber value, not just ad revenue.
• Embrace the "Long Game" for Trust: Recognize that building trust and relevance in the digital age requires patience and a commitment to accuracy and depth, even when immediate metrics may not reflect this effort.
  • Immediate Action: Focus on the accuracy and sourcing of all published content, prioritizing corrections and clarifications.
  • This pays off in 1-2 years: Cultivate a reputation for reliability that becomes a significant differentiator.
• Advocate for Transparency: Continue to highlight the importance of open public records and the challenges in accessing them, educating both the public and policymakers on the critical link between transparency and a functioning democracy.
  • Ongoing: Regularly publish content that explains the process and importance of public records access.