{"id":47461,"date":"2024-02-28T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2024-02-28T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.foresthillsconnection.com\/?p=47461"},"modified":"2024-03-06T21:42:10","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T02:42:10","slug":"to-dcist-an-appreciation-and-a-farewell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foresthillsconnection.com\/news\/to-dcist-an-appreciation-and-a-farewell\/","title":{"rendered":"To DCist: An appreciation and a sad farewell (Updated)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update: WAMU’s Elliott C. Williams reports<\/a> 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. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

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.”<\/p><\/div>\n

“We can never have too much local news.” <\/p>\n

We wrote those words in August 2018 to hail the return of DCist.com<\/a>, an online news and lifestyle site that had been shut down by a previous owner, then revived by WAMU. (WAMU announced the acquisition<\/a> on February 23rd of that year.) The small DCist staff planted roots at WAMU’s headquarters at 4401 Connecticut Avenue. <\/p>\n

On February 23rd, 2024, WAMU laid off 15 employees, including DCist reporters and editors who also contributed to WAMU news coverage<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n

\n

It's the end of February, which means that lawmakers, taxpayers, and advocates are preparing for another budget cycle in D.C. @DCist<\/a> reporters have painstakingly covered lawmakers' positions on votes + priorities for years. But none of that info is accessible now. #UnlockDCist<\/a><\/p>\n

— Morgan Baskin (@mhbaskin) February 27, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n