Scranton, Pennsylvania, as depicted on an 1890 panoramic map (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

In the past several years the Scranton, Pennsylvania, news media have steadily lost workers. In parallel, the space to publish quality journalism in the leading local paper has been reduced. In Northeast Pennsylvania residents and local governments have been slow to adapt to new online information practices despite high-speed Internet access in the area and readily available online publishing software. In addition, the Great Recession has battered local media, highlighting the limitations of the Scranton news and information ecosystem.

As the Knight Report “Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in a Digital Age” highlights, there are three important elements to be considered as we analyze media and democracy in the 21st century:

• availability of relevant and credible information to all Americans and their communities;
• capacity of individuals to engage with information; and
• individual engagement with information and the public life of the community.

If residents are to understand their role in communities and how they function effectively, they require consistent, quality information, information that they are less likely to receive than in even the recent past without additional developments in the Scranton media landscape. This was evident in a community discussion in May hosted by representatives from New America Foundation’s Media Policy Initiative in partnership with the Schemel Forum, a humanities group at the University of Scranton. The discussion confirmed that although the established local paper drives coverage, other journalism is ever more limited and little change has occurred online. With many outlets under significant pressure, continued innovation is required to ensure the informational health of Scranton in the 21st century.

Note: This document has been updated from a previous version to reflect changes in the information ecology.