Why Community Journalism Matters in the Bronx 

A recent article by City Limits low-lighted the lack of news coverage and newspaper distribution for the Bronx. Sure, dailies are sold here, but there’s barely any mention of the borough except from the New York Daily News, which has had a dedicated bureau shop in the Boogie Down for decades, though the number of staffers has dwindled. The article sourced several bean counters over the lack of coverage on the borough, mainly from the free daily Metro New York, explaining that the newspaper is driven by advertisements, and working poor readers are less likely to buy the advertised products, hence the small distribution of its papers here.

This is why community journalism in the Bronx matters–we’re the only ones out there. Certainly, dailies do cover the borough, but coverage tends to primarily follow the if-it-bleeds-it-leads format or the Bronx’s maligned history of shady power relationships.

As it’s been rehashed frequently–newspapers are becoming a dinosaur primed for extinction. Publishers are in survival mode, going after readers with money. Statistically, the ones with the most money are in Manhattan. Nothing wrong there. But journalists should not be in the business of providing coverage to the highest bidder.

In any event, regardless of the state of the press, this editorial is a rallying cry for the borough’s community newspapers to continue doing what they’re doing–keeping an eye on charlatans and propping up neighborhoods to remind them they’re not forgotten. We’re here to provide an ad hoc watchdog service to disadvantaged neighborhoods that may very well be exploited and not even know.

Of course, an underlying quest for profits is on community newspapers’ mind (except for the Norwood News, we’re not-for-profit). Yet it’s perhaps the best bargain in town for in-depth coverage on a borough brewing with progress, but still marred with issues of homelessness, sky high unemployment and health issues. Without us, the Bronx would be a reportage desert, devoid of the fourth estate. Resolutions and changes, therefore, would lumber. That insight was made clear after a conversation I had with a member of the city Conflicts of Interest Board who revealed that many of their investigations are often sparked by a newspaper article. In short, community journalism inspires change. Case in point, the Norwood News’ “Armory Clock” used to indicate how long it would take the state to relocate the National Guard housed in the Armory to make way for a new venture. It stayed fresh in the minds of legislators who pressed for Pataki to act.

So if it’s a column on borough politics read by all the power players, a student-run newspaper, or an online newspaper startup focusing on one particular neighborhood, the borough is in need of them. A 2012 study by Pew Research Center, a media think tank, showed that news is consumed less by the low-income earners, which account for 28 percent in the Bronx, according to U.S. Census data. One major reason, as far as this paper is concerned, is because there are fewer stories about the area.

For me, I often wonder what would happen if there was no coverage of this borough. What then? I imagine the elected officials would run wild, city agencies would go completely complacent, and there would be less discourse. What would ultimately happen is a borough completely in the dark on critical issues that often need fixing through mass media. Community journalism is much like a watchdog–we will bark on behalf of the community. And should on-the-ground journalists root out the negative, inspire more and more Bronxites to be civic minded and make government honest, then perhaps metros will notice and ramp up their coverage efforts.

—DAVID CRUZ,  Editor-in-Chief

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.