As the future of American higher education is being hashed out, Ohioans have a leg up in trying to understand what it all means for their college-age kids and their tax dollars. The state still has at least one reporter dedicated to uncovering and making sense of fast-moving developments on campuses across Ohio. The reporter is part of a partnership between two news outlets, Signal Ohio and Open Campus, helping model new ways to build a trusted, nonprofit local news network in the country. It’s not something we can take for granted anymore. Many states now have zero full-time journalists covering the complex politics, business and affordability of higher education at a local level.The disappearance of original reporting is one of the dangers of the financial and technological crisis that is gutting local newsrooms. More than ever, we need someone with the skills to hunt down and verify actual facts behind issues — and to help sort through the deluge of claims and opinions online. 

With so much at stake, it could not be more urgent to invest in newsrooms we trust, and to revitalize those reporting resources.