The gloomy portents about journalism have been flowing the past week, leading some people who read this column to believe that their favorite news source is as imperiled as those they see faltering in the national media.

Rest assured, we’re healthy. We’ve put a lot of thought, energy and money these last 10 years into building a model for sustainable journalism in Cleveland, and it’s working.

I don’t fault anyone for worrying about us, with such headlines as the one in The Atlantic this week: “Is American Journalism Headed Toward an ‘Extinction-Level Event?” The New York Times had an ugly one: “The News About the News Business is Getting Grimmer.” And from Poynter, which purports to cover the media: “Q&A: Did the media business implode in January.” 

Feeding the doomsaying was the overnight shutdown of The Messenger, a year-old startup that burned through tens of millions of dollars trying to be a national online newsroom. It folded up almost as quickly as it started, leaving hundreds of experienced reporters jobless. The shutdown followed a few big rounds of layoffs at the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post.

You might also have read some of the many ridiculous reports over the past few years by people who write about journalism on a national scale, calling Cleveland a news desert. The reports are ridiculous. The journalists who wrote them are too lazy to look into the facts, and when their errors have been pointed out, they’ve refused to correct them. 

As I’ve noted previously, Cleveland is far from a news desert. Our newsroom has an audience in the millions. Cleveland also has multiple robust television newsrooms that cover the region and state, a Spectrum News team in Northeast Ohio, the Cleveland Jewish News, radio stations and more.

It’s not an accident that our newsroom is healthy. With the traditional newspaper model dying, we challenged ourselves a decade ago to find a path, requiring ceaseless innovation. We have thrown so much mud at the wall to see what sticks that I can’t remember all of our experiments. But for every 20 that might fail, one would work, and we’d refine it to make it better. The result is a news operation that depends not on one revenue stream but many, and we continue to build them.

You can’t read what we produce each week and not see how strong we are. For watchdog journalism, just this week we had two strong stories. Hannah Drown has people all over town talking with her story about the Cleveland schools CEO squandering the $20 million grant received from MacKenzie Scott, of Amazon fame. Lucas Daprile covered the Cuyahoga County Council’s president’s ownership of a building so decrepit that Cleveland is tearing it down, noting the special treatment the city is affording the council president in the demolition process.

I’ve written about it all before, but the content produced by our sports staff, Statehouse and politics team, social media and podcast producers and others is a torrent. We also try to tap into the soul of the community, as with Pete Chakerian’s rich pieces about Kindland and the foodie content of Pete, Marc Bona, Alex Darus, Paris Wolfe, Yadi Rodriguez and Josh Duke. We have so much that I don’t think you can read, view or listen to it all.

Apart from all the strategies and content, though, the single most important factor in the health of our newsroom is you. I’m not just talking about your financial support with subscriptions, although that is critically important and much appreciated. (Subscribe at https://www.cleveland.com/subscribe/) 

It’s the faith you place in us. It’s your relationship with us.

We recognized a few years back that the relationship had deteriorated. We became determined to fix it. That’s the chief reason I write this column. We want to shine a light on how we operate and hear your feedback. This column reaches more than 200,000 people these days, and I value the many emails it generates.

The relationship with you is also why I send out a daily text message to subscribers (It’s free. Sign up at joinsubtext.com/chrisquinn.) The messages  describe stories we have in the works, discussions in the newsroom and questions we seek to answer. Each one brings dozens or hundreds of responses

In 2023, I received more than 30,000 emails and text messages, just in response to this column and my texts. I read every one. It’s how I stay in touch with what people in this region and state are thinking -- and expect of us. Your thoughts are our guide star, and because we act on them, our bond with you grows stronger. 

So, please, when you see stories that say journalism is dead or dying across the land, be concerned. The Fourth Estate is critical to our democracy. The death of newsrooms across this land has allowed despots to flourish in government. 

But recognize, too, that you live in one of the remaining regions and state where journalism flourishes, and take pride in the fact that you are the reason for that. 

We are hellbent on ensuring journalism endures in this region and state. With your continued support, we’ll be here for the long haul, no matter what happens elsewhere. 

I’m at cquinn@cleveland.com.

Thanks for reading