Tarboro journalist refused to let community go uncovered after The Daily Southerner newspaper closed

In many communities that have lost their local newspaper, there is no one left to cover town government, high school sports or the issues that affect daily life.

In the town Tarboro, there is John Walker.

When corporate ownership shut down The Daily Southerner in 2014, Walker and his wife, Stephanie, chose to stay.

Walker launched Tarboro Today, a digital news site dedicated to covering the community he loves.

"It's live, and it's local, and it's news," Walker said.

Most days, that means doing the work that once required an entire newsroom.

Walker covers town council meetings. He reports on local government. He spends his weekends on the sidelines covering high school sports. He sells advertising to support the site. Financially, he says, the operation essentially breaks even.

"The community's been good to us," Walker said. "And just because corporate ownership gave up on it, I'm not. I can't."

For Walker, local journalism has become more than a profession. It's a mission.

So much so that when WRAL interviewed him for the documentary “Left Uncovered: Inside North Carolina's News Deserts,” he almost didn't mention another battle he's fighting.

Walker has prostate cancer.

It's not his first cancer diagnosis. He survived neck cancer in 2004.

"My wife has asked me how long I'm going to do this," Walker said. "And I've told her, 'until I can't.'"

For Walker, local journalism isn't just a job.

It's a commitment to a community he refuses to leave behind.

"I've said, ‘Well, when I go, I hope it's on the sidelines, or sitting covering a meeting, doing the work of the people,’" Walker said.