What Bankers Want
Money, money, money! Is there a more crucial topic at the moment? Yes and no. The Vashon Loop kicks off a Spring/Summer focus on the almighty (or not so) dollar...plus, who owns your local paper?
Sunday, March 26th, 2023
Dear Vashon Loop Readers and Substack Subscribers,
Down below, we’re offering a special perk for our PAID subscribers! “What Bankers Want” will be published in our April Issue, and we’re excited to give our “voluntarily paying readers” a sneak peak!
Your support of our work is rare, because The Vashon Loop is rare. We are a true community paper, owned by five human beings (3 families), who all live on Vashon Island. We have no silent partners. Nor do we fall under the control of any other business, corporation, or country. The Loop is truly independent. Not only is this rare, but it’s of vital importance, as massive media companies increasingly put their finger on the editorial scales of hundreds - even thousands - of “local” newspapers.
Many of us talk about “consolidation” in media, but there’s talking about it and then there’s seeing it with our own eyes. We say “our own eyes” because we have also been shocked by what we’ve discovered over the past few months.
Vashon Island is just barely south of Seattle, surrounded by the deep, cold waters of the Puget Sound. In all directions, there are small towns, and most of them have a "community” newspaper. Who owns these community newspapers? Mostly NOT the locals! Sometimes, not even Americans.
In our part of Washington State, a significant number of “community” newspapers are owned by Sound Publishing, which is owned - in turn - by Black Press Media. A Canadian company. While exploring “local papers” in Island County, we further discovered that Kitsap Sun is owned by Gannett Company which owns over 100 daily newspapers, and nearly 1,000 weekly newspapers serving: 44 U.S. states, one U.S. territory, and six countries.
Haven’t heard of Gannett Company before today? Neither had we, and maybe that’s on purpose? How else could we be unfamiliar with their name, given that Gannett Co., Inc. (an American mass media holding company headquartered in the D.C. area) is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher (as measured by total daily circulation).
The Vashon Loop Editorial Team may live on (and serve) a small island community, but our scope is global & our journalism is unfettered by corporate interests. Welcome to a truly community owned newspaper.
POP QUIZ: Who owns your “local” paper?
Click the links below to see the full reach of these two media companies, and if it’s not one of these guys, call up your local editor and ask. Please feel free to share what you learn below, in the comments!