Ed. — From the Sunday, Oct. 20, print edition.
BACK BAY — One Monday in July, someone called me with a tip that Dominion Energy representatives were meeting Sandbridge community members about some pretty big news.
When I arrived, the Dominion folks were discussing their planned acquisition of a controversial project to bring wind power captured off the North Carolina coast ashore at Sandbridge.
The Kitty Hawk North project, previously in the hands of Avangrid, had faced vocal opposition in Sandbridge over potential impacts to the residential resort community. This made the City Council resistant to clearing the way for a future landing here.
Fortunes change, though. It’s reasonable to think the influential Dominion may fare better than Avangrid. The project is now called CVOW-South. A landing at Sandbridge remains possible.
I was the only reporter at the meeting, as far as I can tell. There were several Dominion reps on hand, which makes sense because Dominion understands communicating effectively and well.
Dominion told its story outside this room, too. Overall, local and Virginia journalists repeated it. The press largely used provided statements as the basis of its coverage. To be clear, I used some information from press releases in addition to my reporting in person and by telephone. And, after initial new stories came out, a nonprofit supported by Dominion repeated it all again.
Journalism such as this on a big local story is practically useless. It’s happening, in part, because the press is outmatched when it comes to the resources of those it covers. I’ll talk more about this sort of thing as The Independent News publishes its final few editions.
We need local journalism that is bigger, better and stronger than what we have now, and I want to work toward that goal for our city, even after The Independent News folds in December. This column is about one reason why we need a better journalism, but there are many.
Virginia Beach will not have future journalism if we do not invest in it now.
After the announcement by Dominion, a nonprofit organization called Virginians for Offshore Wind was celebratory. “Building on the success of the original CVOW project,” it wrote in a statement, “today’s news demonstrates continued momentum behind job-creating offshore wind.”
In an email, the group also wrote, “Several prominent Virginia news outlets have covered this pivotal announcement and highlighted the many exciting details of the CVOW-South project.” The details, of course, originated in communications written by Dominion or, at times, Avangrid.
The nonprofit quoted highlights of coverage by five news organizations that effectivey repeated corporate communications. This included quotes from officials who were “interviewed” only in press releases.
I’m not criticizing Dominion here. Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia, spoke with me after the meeting. He didn’t duck any questions, and a Dominion spokesperson was available for follow up. These folks are very good at their work. Local journalists need the tools, resources and personnel to be good, too.
Some news coverage referenced issues in Sandbridge, but there was little depth. One news organization, at least to me, wasn’t clear enough that facts and quotes it presented were not from original interviews but prepared by the subject of its report.
Further, Virginians for Offshore Wind is supported by Dominion. That’s not a state secret, but not everybody knows that.
Please see the echo chamber, enabled by a weak press, for what it is. First, a powerful company tells its story. Next, journalists repeat it. And, finally, a group funded by or sympathetic to the company amplifies the media’s repetition of talking points.
The balance is broken. We need to make our journalism stronger and, as much as possible, independent of those it covers. How can we convince people of our value as journalists if much of what we have to say originates in a press release?
This will not be overcome unless citizens demand more — and are willing to help pay for the competent journalism our city deserves.
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