Update: WAMU’s Elliott C. Williams reports that station management has restored access to the DCist archives for one year, and is exploring options in the meantime for keeping the articles publicly accessible.
The message popping up on DCist.com links: “Thank you for visiting and supporting DCist. Since 2018, it has been a part of WAMU 88.5, the Washington region’s public media and NPR member station. As of February 23, the site will no longer publish new content. Please visit WAMU.org for local news and programming.”
“We can never have too much local news.”
We wrote those words in August 2018 to hail the return of DCist.com, an online news and lifestyle site that had been shut down by a previous owner, then revived by WAMU. (WAMU announced the acquisition on February 23rd of that year.) The small DCist staff planted roots at WAMU’s headquarters at 4401 Connecticut Avenue.
On February 23rd, 2024, WAMU laid off 15 employees, including DCist reporters and editors who also contributed to WAMU news coverage, and shuttered the site once more. DCist links redirect to WAMU.org, and thousands of articles, many of them reporting on people and issues not covered anywhere else, are inaccessible. WAMU’s remaining local news reporters and anchors and former DCist staff are leading an #UnlockDCist campaign, imploring WAMU and American University management to preserve and restore the DCist.com archive.
It's the end of February, which means that lawmakers, taxpayers, and advocates are preparing for another budget cycle in D.C. @DCist reporters have painstakingly covered lawmakers' positions on votes + priorities for years. But none of that info is accessible now. #UnlockDCist
— Morgan Baskin (@mhbaskin) February 27, 2024
Ward 3 Council member Matt Frumin is among those supporting the cause.
DCist stories are part of the archive of our history. Over and over, the important journalism done by DCist writers has prompted government action and legislation. That critical body of work cannot be lost. https://t.co/ztjMz6weIj
— Councilmember Matt Frumin (@CMFrumin) February 27, 2024
Forest Hills Connection has linked to DCist stories many times, most recently to a two-part series on deteriorating eastern forests, and how we, as individuals, can act to save the trees. Also, we will miss spotting the occasional DCist/WAMU reporter at ANC meetings. DCist seemed to share our fascination with these hyperlocal examples of representative democracy, and we loved them for it.
In short, there’s now a lot less local news. The loss of DCist only compounds the problem. By most accounts, last year’s Washington Post buyouts hit its Metro section the hardest. That means more stories left untold, and fewer resources for essential reporting on local issues, people and institutions.
During my time @wamu885/@DCist, I wrote (and produced FOR radio broadcast) nearly 200 stories.
It was my honor to share the voices of people seldom heard on our airwaves. Folks from El Salvador, Afghanistan, Haiti, Vietnam, Ethiopia — and more — who now call the DC-region home.
— Héctor Alejandro Arzate (@hectoraarzate) February 27, 2024
There are more stories I wanted to tell but I’m proud of our effort – along with the trust that we built – to inform and delight readers/listeners about their neighbors.
I’m devastated that these stories are gone, along with thousands more that served our region. #UnlockDCist
— Héctor Alejandro Arzate (@hectoraarzate) February 27, 2024
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Marchant Wentworth says
To add to the Public Clamor: The loss of DCist is not just theoretical For example, firing Jacob Fenston means the loss of his hours of learning about and commenting on DC environmental problems in depth. His reporting spurred change, which is what it is supposed to do in a free and vibrant society.. This is big loss, not only for us, but for the myriad of things he reported on. Marchant Wentworth, Wentworth Green Strategies.
Carren Kaston says
It’s inconceivable to me that DCist would be shut down and their archives made inaccessible. I think there must be a back story here that’s being hidden. Can we find out? There should be an investigation of this alone. There was no explanation offered by WAMU that made sense.
Morgan Baskin, among others, was a STAR for her coverage of housing/affordable housing issues in DC. Irreplaceable.
And where will those reporters go? If anyone knows, please let Forest Hills Connection know, so that the rest of us can be informed.
Thank you to DCist for your magnificent, invaluable work!
FHC says
Agreed on the lack of transparency. We’ve just updated our article with the news that WAMU has responded to the public outcry by restoring access to the DCist archive for one year.
We follow Morgan Baskin and Jacob Fenston on X, and are hoping they land somewhere local so the DC community can continue to benefit from their reporting.
Carren Kaston says
Thanks, Marlene, for letting me/us know that WAMU agreed to open the DCist archives for a year. And thank you very much as well for doing a story on this. It’s just unfortunate that any limits — such as a year — should be put on access to the DCist archives.
What is WAMU afraid of? The archives should remain permanently accessible. Is that hugely expensive? What’s the cause of WAMU’s stingy approach to these articles?
And again — as I wrote before — what’s the real reason that WAMU eliminated DCist? Perhaps it was due to nothing more nefarious than bad judgment? If so, that needs to be made clear to the public and the people who made the decision should be removed. Then DCist should be restored, if any reporters could still trust WAMU.
In terms of following reporters on X, I’m not on X. And I think it’s difficult to do full articles on X — small screen, etc. I do hope the reporters will land lucrative contracts at another DC media outlet.