The media coverage of this week’s Scott administration temporary shelter Clusterfuck^TM has been dispiritingly spotty and incomplete. This has helped the admin play a little game of “Hey, look! A Squirrel!” with the press. Gov. Phil Scott came out swinging in his Wednesday press conference, bashing the Legislature for allegedly failing to address Act 250 reform when, in fact, the legislative process is a lengthy one and it’s way too early to declare victory or defeat. Since the environmental and development lobbies seem to be unified behind the effort, there is every reason to believe that significant reform will be enacted and Scott’s panic will prove unwarranted.

But all the whining and finger-pointing diverted press attention from the simultaneous rollout of the shelter plan, which involves kicking 500 vulnerable Vermonters out of state-paid motel rooms and into hastily-constructed temporary shelters that will (a) only be open at night and (b) will only be in operation for one week. Or less.

Starting tonight.

The press took a while to get in gear on the shelter issue. It’s a complicated situation, and most of the stories failed to get a full grasp of it. Some weren’t much better than water carriers for administration policy.

I was prepared to write a scathing critique of our press corps, and I will, but then I listened to a really good podcast this morning about the fallen state of journalism today. It made me realize that every one of us plays a part in the health of our media ecosystem, and that I should do something about it as well as complain about it.

But first, the complaints!

Let’s start with a press conference called by housing advocates on Wednesday afternoon at 1:00. For context, Commissioner Chris Winters of the Department of Children and Families had just told a House committee about the ridiculous shelter plan at 11:30. At noon, the governor held his weekly press conference at which he basically brushed aside questions about the shelter plan. It was the first gubernatorial presser I’d attended in person since before the pandemic, and the gathering were a decidedly smaller bunch than it had been only four years ago. There were maybe six to eight reporters, plus a handful more who took part by phone. Back in 2019, there’d usually be twice that many.

Then came the housing presser at 1:00. I was there. Carly Berlin, the Report for America journalist shared by VTDigger and Vermont Public, was there. Calvin Cutler of WCAX-TV was there. And that was it.

I repeat. That was it. Two professional reporters plus little old me. This pitiful turnout meant the resulting coverage, which primarily focused on Scott’s hissy fit about permitting reform, failed to fully explain the situation. Berlin, normally a very good reporter, put out a story (on both platforms) that seemed administration-friendly. I’m sure she was under heavy time pressure (as all reporters are these days), and the governor’s tactic of deflecting and obscuring made it difficult for her to quickly grasp the entirety of the matter.

Which is fine. No reporter bats a thousand. Problem was, aside from me and Calvin, there wasn’t anyone else there! When the media contingent was larger, if one reporter didn’t get the goods then someone else did. There were a variety of news outlets to draw from.

Not now. The daily papers are long gone, of course. Seven Days was nowhere to be seen on Wednesday. It didn’t publish a story about the shelters until Friday afternoon, and that one was almost entirely about the Burlington shelter. It barely mentioned the other three.

This story screamed for in-depth coverage from a variety of angles. It’s not only a policy story, it’s also full of conflict and human drama. If you want to think purely in terms of readership or clicks, it’s a sexy story. Far sexier than your typical “the bill advanced through committee and moved on to another committee” stuff. A few years ago either Digger or Seven Days would have been capable of handling this as it deserved to be handled, but not any more.

The lack of coverage was largely due to diminished resources, but I have sensed a general wariness about reporting on shelter and emergency housing. Reporters and editors seem to have decided that it’s just not very important or interesting or both. I can’t explain why that is. That old saying about comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable seems to have gone out of fashion.

My response to all this disappointment was to become a monthly supporter of VTDigger, Vermont Public, and Seven Days. This may seem counterintuitive; I mean, I’m pretty unimpressed with their coverage. But there was this podcast, you see.

It was the latest installment of Search Engine, in which host PJ Vogt takes a deep dive into a question that’s been on his mind. It can be almost anything, from social issues to addiction to AI to chicken bones and cockroaches. This edition was “How do we survive the media apocalypse?” The guest was New York Times columnist Ezra Klein, who has extensive experience in digital-age media.

I strongly recommend it. He gives a thorough and coherent explanation for the decline of print media (physical paper or digital) over the last couple of decades and why it’s suddenly gotten so much worse this year. He also suggests some structural reforms that might help, and makes a strong case that each of us bears a measure of responsibility for what’s happening — and each of us can do our part to make things better.

Klein pointed out that we all vote for content with our time and attention. If you spend your time on Instagram and TikTok and Facebook and Twitter or watching cat videos, that’s the content you’re helping to perpetuate. Your time and attention are paying the bills for that stuff.

So, if you value good journalism and especially local journalism, you’ve got to make a commitment with your eyeballs and your dollars. Consume local reporting. Subscribe to your local media outlet. Be intentional about your news diet and news budget.

I was convinced. I stepped up. I already subscribe to my local paper, the Times Argus. In addition to the other three new commitments, I added a monthly gift to The Bridge, Montpelier’s free paper that publishes twice a month. I encourage each of you, if your household finances allow, to consider supporting the local and state outlets you depend on. If we all chip in, these entities might just become sustainable. Every donation will push things one step in a positive direction. And that’s what each of us can do.

Now, while I intend to be a regular donor, I also intend to be a noisy donor. They all claim to welcome feedback from supporters. I’m not going to hold back on telling them when they fall short and how they could do better. If you become a donor, I’d suggest you do the same.