Last year The Maine Monitor hosted 16 listening tour sessions across Maine, meeting Mainers in 12 of the state’s 16 counties. We asked participants to tell us what they need — and are missing — from local news. We learned a lot, including that people are hungry for more accountability journalism and that they are relying on local news to connect to their communities and one another.
We also heard a particular need for more reporting in news deserts in western and downeast Maine. In response we launched Monitor Local, an initiative to provide people in towns in western and downeast Maine with a new source for reporting on their communities. Monitor Local provides residents with the information they need to be engaged citizens, empowered to participate in town council meetings, school budget debates, zoning conversations, tax deliberations and more.
As part of our commitment to transparency, we’re publishing a report of what else we learned from the listening tour sessions. You can find the report below, or by clicking here.
Have feedback to share with us about what you want from local news? We encourage you to share your thoughts with us through our contact form or directly to Editor Kate Cough: gro.r1770995296otino1770995296menia1770995296meht@1770995296etak1770995296.
Keep an eye out on our events page and our newsletters of upcoming events that we’ll be hosting or participating in across the state.
