The race for Mayor of St. Louis is interesting, there is no incumbent, and like most large metropolitan areas the public is demanding action on a wide-range of issues.
It has one dominant daily newspapers the St. Louis Post-Dispatch which faces many of the same struggles large newspapers do these days.
One of those challenges is public trust and relevance.
One of the Democratic primary contenders for Mayor declined to sit down with the newspaper's editorial board, instead issuing a scathing open letter against the newspaper which closed:
But what the editorial board and certain other reporters have done is nothing short of thinly veiled racism and preference for the status quo past. Something this city has had enough of.
I think there might be enough city voters who are with me and are ready to vote for that change in March and April. After we do that, you and your dog will be safer. And maybe you will consider hiring an African-American editorial writer.
The letter was widely shared, and gained the candidate support. The grievances - especially about editorial board not being reflective of the community - are shared in many communities.
Some in journalism may dismiss this as political opportunism, or worse use this to affirm their self-belief in greatness - the we're being attacked by some on the left and some on the right, therefore we're objective and fair.
It may be opportunistic, that it is fruitful reflects a bigger problem for journalists: our communities no longer see the local daily newspaper as reflective of their lived experiences.