Judy Hucka, Whidbey League president, far left, joins University of Washington Associate Professor Matthew Powers, Washington State University’s Jennifer Henrichsen, Ph.D., and TVW’s Austin Jenkins for a discussion about local news in the state earlier this month.

Local news is a key component of the League mission of empowering voters and defending democracy, Whidbey Island League President Judy Hucka told an audience at the University of Washington on Nov. 13.  

Hucka, a member of the state Local News team and an advocate on the state Lobby Team, was invited to present at the university’s Department of Communication Journalism and Public Interest Communication program Autumn Mixer. 

Austin Jenkins of Northwest News Network and host of TVW’s “Inside Olympia” program moderated the panel, which also featured associate professor Matthew Powers of UW’s Center for Journalism, Media & Democracy and Jennifer Henrichsen, Ph.D., the chief researcher for a major Washington State University study on Washington’s news ecosystem. She is also an assistant professor at WSU. 

Hucka said the League study “The Decline of Local News and Its Impact on Democracy” was the first comprehensive look at the decline of local news outlets in the state. It was completed in 2022.  

The study led to state and national League adoption of the policy position allowing Leagues nationwide to advocate for legislation and other solutions to the local news crisis, Hucka said. She also explained how the position has led to LWVWA advocacy of several bills in the Washington Legislature. 

The panel explored the state of journalism in Washington today and how to use research and knowledge to strengthen democracy and local news.  

Dozens of UW journalism students and Seattle-area journalists attended. 

Hucka is a former journalist and adjunct faculty at UW, where she oversaw a training program that placed student journalists in Olympia to report on the Legislature.  

For more information about the League’s work in local news, contact News Team chair Dee Anne Finken.  

The News Team meets the third Tuesday of each month.