#SAVELOCALNEWS
In most of my earliest memories, 24hr news channels play in the background. I was always fascinated by how the entire globe could be connected in this way; how information could spread from pole to pole at the fingertips of what seemed to be quite a small group of journalists and news outlets.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that that impression is not entirely false. The majority of our major news and media outlets are owned by a proportionately small group of powerful people, all of whom, of course, have their own vested interests. Over the last 100 years, news has been getting bigger and wider and further afield, which is great –it’s good to be informed about what is going on in the world. But this often comes at the cost of news becoming more general, and less trustworthy; in fact, the 2022 Gallup poll found that media trust in the US is at an all-time low: with only 16% of Americans claiming to have "a great deal/quite a lot of confidence" in newspapers, and 11% in television news.
Without ample local news coverage, we lose an understanding of what is happening on our doorstep. We end up knowing more about world events than economic and social needs in our own communities – and therefore, how the two are connected. Local journalists are often hailed as the watchdogs of democracy: they attend and report to the public on town and school board meetings, investigate local corruption, and hold local governments accountable to voters. In 2020, a Gallup/Knight Foundation study found that areas with less local news coverage, also known as "news deserts," also had lower voter turnout and fewer people running for office.
Protecting local news is protecting democracy. Young journalists today have an unprecedented opportunity to transform the political vitriol and media distrust we have experienced into a more credible and ethical journalistic landscape, that will increasingly be led by millennials and Gen-Zrs.
That’s why I’m supporting NY Senate Bill S7544, which will make the cost of subscribing to local newspapers tax deductible. This is an easy and impactful way we can take steps towards supporting local news.
THE DATA
Only 50% of U.S. counties have a local newspaper
2500 papers gone since 2005
300 more since the beginning of COVID
We are in an epidemic of the loss of local news. Recently, there has been a colossal collapse of local news around the country. With Americans turning towards social media and other free internet sources for news, and major companies dominating the news market, the U.S. has lost local papers at an unprecedented rate: only half of all the 1,540 counties in the U.S. have a local newspaper, and most of these are weekly, not daily. Over two newspapers a week are disappearing, and since 2005, the U.S. has lost over a quarter of its newspapers – 2,500 in total. The country has lost more than 300 newspapers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vast majority of the communities that have lost a newspaper do not obtain some sort of replacement. Currently, there are only 6,380 surviving papers, including 1,230 dailies, and 5,150 weeklies.
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This loss of local news has engendered mass misinformation and disinformation, crumbling trust in the media, and political polarization. This plagues our democracy as local journalism serves as the watchdogs of democracy, properly informing their communities and unveiling potential wrong doings. In a Columbia Journalism review, they found a general consensus in interviews that many health care issues and courthouses are not being given adequate attention. In addition, many publications are switching to an approach focused on “enterprise” journalism that impacts both the audiences and the funders. For instance, these publications now put their energy towards massive corruption or failing agency scandals as opposed to consistent coverage of developments in a local area. Local news can help close the media trust gap as many Americans trust their local papers significantly more than the nationwide publications. For example, only about 31% of Americans claim that they trust the reporting from national media outlets “quite a lot” or a “great deal” while about 45% of Americans can say the same for the coverage from local news institutions. Although 45% isn’t what we are shooting for as a country, local news is our best shot to allow the people to trust the media and to create a less divided country.
RESOURCES
This 2020 report funded by the Gallup and Knight Foundation polled over 20,000 U.S. adults. Key findings included that local news plays a crucial role in civic and political engagement, as those who follow local news closely are more likely to vote in local elections. The researchers also found that many Americans blame the media for its political divisions. Thankfully, they also believe that the media has the power to fix these divisions.
This article describes the recent decline in local news and its ramifications, as this loss furthers the spread of misinformation and disinformation and creates more political polarization and distrust in the media.
This report details the decline of local news in New York City, a global media capital, and its effect on the distribution of proper and credible information to citizens. Specifically, the report mentions how newspapers have shifted more towards focusing on events such as a corruption scandal as opposed to the daily workings of a local community.
This article demonstrates the public’s distrust in the media, and how local news media can aid in minimizing or even eradicating this lack of trust. It also discusses how local newspapers can help create deeper relationships with the communities they serve such as interacting with readers, teaching the process, giving readers what they want, and encouraging readers to pay.
