Chris Rausch owns one of the rare local news publications that’s booming rather than collapsing, but he can’t find new journalistic talent who can afford to move to the Delaware cape region.
“We’ve not been able to bring in any interns or new hires from out of the area for a couple of years,” said Rausch, publisher of The Cape Gazette, which is based near Rehoboth, Delaware, where President Joe Biden has a vacation home. “Our only recourse is to look for potential candidates who are already situated in the area.”
It’s a Catch-22 in the local news business in which some news outlets that enjoy steady advertising and older, affluent readers are also communities where housing is unattainable for younger journalists. Such markets include Martha’s Vineyard, the Delaware shore and wealthy beach cities in Florida and California.
