In the 20th century, local newspapers ran on 30 to 40 percent profit margins, and journalism was a thriving industry. But the internet dismantled that model in less than a generation. Advertising migrated to Google and Facebook, and classified ads moved to Craigslist. In parallel, subscriptions collapsed. Profits dissolved; so did newsrooms. Now roughly 50 million Americans have limited or no access to credible local news. This is most acute in the rural South.

On this episode of Better Good, Scott is joined by Warwick Sabin, president and CEO of Deep South Today for a conversation about why the collapse of local journalism is one of the most overlooked threats to American democracy—and what a new nonprofit model is doing to rebuild it in the communities that need it most. Warwick explains how Deep South Today united several Southern newsrooms into a single organization, and one publication even won a Pulitzer Prize. He makes the case that nonprofit journalism is like nonprofit healthcare: Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic don't sacrifice quality by removing the profit motive, and neither does Deep South Today. He also reflects on his career and what it means to show up for civic life at a moment when local institutions and democratic accountability are both under pressure. This episode explores themes of local journalism, press freedom, civic infrastructure, nonprofit media, democracy, and what it means to build institutions that serve the public good rather than the bottom line.