When Tarboro lost its local newspaper, John Walker didn’t leave. Instead, he stayed and built the digital news site ‘My Tarboro Today’ to keep covering the community.
Local News Matters
Walker came to Tarboro in 2012 as publisher of the Daily Southerner. Two years later, the paper’s parent company, CNHI, shut it down. Rather than leave, Walker and his wife stayed. Today, he covers town council meetings, local high school sports, obituaries, and other community news on My Tarboro Today.
Since a documentary about his work aired, support for his work has grown dramatically. Walker said visits to his website have increased from about 490,000 to more than 530,000, and he’s gained hundreds of new subscribers.
Walker believes that local journalism matters. He said he attends government meetings because many community members can’t, then shares what happened so people can stay informed.
For example, Walker covered the very first planning board meeting on a proposed data center in Edgecombe County. After residents organized and voiced their concerns, the town council ultimately denied the application.
Walker said he’s proud to be the one telling the community’s story and sharing that information. The response to the documentary has only reinforced his commitment to continue doing the work.
Original reporting: WRAL Raleigh — read the source article.
