Our Loss of Democracy Circles Back to Our Loss of the Local Paper

The loss of democracy is a product of declining local journalism. Photo courtesy of kgroovy via Flickr

In the 2024 presidential election, President Donald Trump won with 312 electoral votes, sweeping states including Idaho and Mississippi.

In Idaho, only six of 44 counties have two or more local news outlets. In Mississippi, just 10 out of 82 counties have two or more news outlets. In the United States, there are 1,524 counties with only one local news outlet, and 213 with zero outlets.

Coincidence?

According to the Medill Local News Initiative from Northwestern University, there has been a loss of over 3,200 papers in the country since 2005. That’s an average of losing 160 papers a year. Or a paper almost every other day.

Over the past two decades, the assumption has been that news would grow to become more accessible to everyone with the internet and social media. However, the internet hasn’t had an entirely positive impact; technology has taken over, eliminating circulation and job opportunities in rural communities, thus eliminating local papers altogether.

These communities without a local news outlet, known as news deserts, have been linked to lower civic engagement, lower median household incomes and a high number of residents living below the poverty line. The Local News Initiative found that 16.3% of residents living in news deserts were living below the poverty line, compared to the national percentage of 12.5%. In these areas, residents are worried about paying their bills, putting food on the table and supporting their families, not paying for a news subscription.

It’s important to put this into perspective when looking at last year’s election results. Trump’s national popular vote margin was one of the smallest in history, at 1.5%, but in news-desert counties, he won by an average of 54% points.

So the question is, what does this say about our country’s lack of local journalism? Many people might not even consider the relationship between local news and our democracy, but it's been shown that local journalism can reduce political polarization, increase voter turnout in local elections and overall increase civic engagement.  

In communities with little or no local news outlets, civic engagement is extremely low. Incumbent local officials are more likely to win and spend less money on campaigning, and politicians in these areas are less involved in committee meetings. There’s also a stark increase in political polarization, with local journalism bringing community members together on local issues such as education and infrastructure. Residents focus on the issues in their backyard and are determined to work with others to find solutions, rather than national issues that create a divide.

But when local media is no longer in the picture, polarization increases dramatically. Readers are bombarded with national news filling the gap left by the disappearance of local media, and suddenly, issues are seen as “either/or” situations. This is a main catalyst for political polarization.

A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 41% of Americans believe local journalism is somewhat important to their local community. The survey also found that views towards local media are not as politically polarized as views on the media overall. With these numbers in mind, it has to be asked: Why are local news outlets disappearing?

In 2021, the News Media Alliance counted almost 700 major daily newspapers in the U.S. Of those almost 700, over half were owned by the same few major parent companies, including Gannett, Hearst Communications and Chatham Asset Management. 

With this media consolidation comes layoffs; companies completely gut out newsrooms that once flourished with several beat reporters, staff photographers and section editors. Today, many newsrooms are left with a single staff reporter who has to outsource to freelance reporters and photographers.

Because these newsrooms no longer have any staff to cover the local news, the empty space in the paper is filled by national wire services publishing stories that have no connection to the community the paper is serving.

In rural communities, PBS member stations are often the only source of local journalism available to residents. For families living in areas with low income or no internet access, PBS stations are a lifeline. These stations provide news coverage of local communities, as well as educational programming for children. PBS is the mind behind dozens of beloved childhood TV programs, including “Sesame Street,” “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and “Arthur.” 

For decades, these programs have not only provided entertainment for children, but they have also taught valuable reading, writing and STEM skills before they enter kindergarten. PBS programs also taught social-emotional skills such as empathy, self-awareness and decision making.

And the most important part? These programs are all free. 

In areas where early childhood education is not accessible, PBS has provided programs to children and families who otherwise would never have had access to educational content. This could be because of low income, a lack of internet access or simply parents not having enough time in the day.

Congress's rescinding of $1.1 billion in funding for CPB is a large-scale example of local news outlets losing their place in the media. Between the loss of funding, the conglomeration of daily newspapers and over 1,700 counties in the U.S. classified as “news deserts,” the future of journalism looks bleak.

Many journalism students have big dreams of working somewhere like the New York Times, The Washington Post or The Boston Globe, becoming an investigative reporter breaking the huge stories for the world to see. They may be pursuing broadcast journalism and aspire to be someone like Lester Holt or Kristen Welker. Even if a student does not have these goals and wishes for something smaller, many people will ask, “Why not work in the big leagues? Isn’t that what all journalists want?” While these goals are impressive, working for a smaller-scale news outlet is just as impactful.

While working for local news outlets might be considered a small job, it is anything but. Local journalism is how we keep democracy alive. It is how we stay informed on issues close to home that we can change, rather than focusing on national news that just creates a sharper divide in society. It is how we increase voter turnout in local elections, so that citizens understand how important their voices are. It is how we help our neighbors, who all deserve to have access to accurate and timely news.

So, to current journalism students: a career at a major news outlet can be incredible, but don’t rule out writing for a local news outlet in a small community. You don’t know the change it could make.