HELLO AGAIN, HELLO: Seven years later, CoMo indie journalism shines

The more things change...

 

COLUMBIA, Mo 12/15/24 (Op Ed) -- ... the more they stay the same, at least so the adage goes.

Two things that have changed since February 2018, the date of our last email newsletter: local government agencies have clamped down on information sharing, with a corresponding increase in our cost of living and decrease in our quality of life; and our legacy 4th Estate, once epitomized by the Columbia Daily Tribune, has all but disappeared.

Are the two connected? I think so. 

But while Columbia doesn't have yesterday's bustling newsrooms, bi-weekly paychecks for aggressive newshounds, or Watergate-worthy breaking stories every week, we DO have quality independent, aka indie, news sites. 

 

No longer is the Columbia Heart Beat alone, trying not to wither under the scowl of those legacy 4th Estaters and the elected/appointed (or do we call them "Deep City") officials who knew whom they could push in the media and how far.

No longer are we the only "all-digital, alternative news source."

Columbia is now the fortunate home of CoMoBuz, veteran journalist Mike Murphy's hard-hitting, well-researched local news site. Murphy pushes through opaque public information ploys diplomatically but persistently. CoMoBuz revealed the truth behind several destructive fires earlier this year after city officials clammed up; and the partial truth behind Columbia school (CPS) superintendent Brian Yearwood's abrupt departure (hint: it was not "retirement" but a planned and negotiated exit. So did CPS officials lie to us? What else is new? That's why we need a 4th Estate).

 

Murphy has taken his indie spirit to KSSZ radio, co-hosting Columbia Buzz with Al Germond and Brian Karl every Sunday from 8-10 am.

Indie photojournalists are breaking local news, too, prompting public awareness about pressing issues that reflect high-profile, visually-disturbing policy failures. In Columbia's case for sure, add a puzzling FTA -- failure to acknowledge -- those policy flops among elected officials.

Take the inauspicious arrival of the nation's greatest domestic crisis in generations: homelessness. "Throw money at it, then hope for the best" is clearly not working, as The Real Columbia Missouri Facebook page shows with every new heart-wrenching, gut-punching tragedy or outrage. Right click to open Facebook pages in new window.

Outrage at the homeless?  Absolutely not. Outrage at all the money. Money is stoking and feeding this catastrophe, whether it be from the Feds, drugs, human trafficking, City Hall, ARPA, donors, wherever.  And measured outrage, coupled with humor and satire, at the recipients of these millions and the rich, powerful community leaders who always seem content to shove the suffering into certain long-segregated corners of Columbia.

Still, the beneficiaries of this monetary largesse (who sure aren't the homeless) like to accuse their critics of "hating" or "callousness" or other manipulative pejoratives. How can you condemn that poor man sleeping in the traffic median while tires dodge his slouching arm? Hater!  But that nonsense is just another way the homeless get used. They are becoming a new protected class, human shields against rightful reservations and conduits to tax-free cash.

Last but not least on the list of newish indie news sites: Columbia MO Scanner and Columbia Missouri Police Scanner & Community Activity, both on Facebook and both posting instant news from police, fire, social media, and person-on-the-street pix, videos, and narratives. 

 

These sites are new takes on newswires, like UPI and AP.  They also fill a growing need for transparency in emergency services, as Columbia police, Boone County Sheriff, Missouri highway patrol, and other agencies censor and remove critical public information.

 

So what is the Heart Beat newsletter's possible new role in all this? Sharing occasional stories from us, including the archived but relevant, and the "Best Of " our indie brethren.  Leaving everything on social media risks the wrath of the Algorithm.

 

And though these Facebook pages aren't exactly journalism, we may occasionally share news and notables from sites like Citizens for Accountability and Transparency at Columbia Public Schools, especially during election season.

We've had over 200 people sign up for the Heart Beat newsletter since the last issue, right up to this month. We'll gradually roll it back out, remove Unsubscribes and Bounces, and hope to get everything cleaned up and revamped with the new year. 

The Columbia Heart Beat is not associated with any site or organization we may feature.

 

ABOUT:  Mike Martin started his journalism journey at United Press International in Washington, DC. He did the work-from-home thing for NewsFactor Networks, the Epilepsy Foundation, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and several dozen science and technology publications, including Science, Psychology Today, the MIT Technology Review, Harvard Magazine.

Martin was a science journalism fellow at Duke University's National Evolutionary Synthesis Center and has been a member of the National Press Club, National Association of Science Writers, and the Local Independent Online News Association.

 

Martin founded the Columbia Heart Beat in 2005 and stepped away from managing it in 2018.