Amid the upheaval in the media industry, thousands of communities have lost their local news outlets. And as the number of these “news deserts” grows, research shows that people’s sense of connection to their communities declines. Yet despite the many challenges, there are promising signs that for-profit and nonprofit ventures, along with legacy and digital organizations, are beginning to develop economically and journalistically viable models.
A growing number of Americans say that they get their local news from a wide variety of sources. In 2024, two-thirds of those who reported getting local news at least sometimes said they did so from websites, apps, or email services – up from 54% in 2018. But still a majority of Americans get their local news through local TV stations.
In the last several years, we have seen a drop in the share of Americans who say they follow local news very closely. This has paralleled a decline in interest in national news, and may reflect a larger trend toward less civic engagement among young people.
This report aims to stimulate discussion of how to rebuild locally owned, trusted and respected journalism that serves the interests and needs of local communities. It offers a set of policy proposals focused on four key areas: digital privacy rules, public broadcasting policies, the need for platforms to better compensate local news for content, and antitrust law. It also discusses the role of government in providing resources that enable local communities to supply their own information, relying on the ingenuity and commitment of residents themselves rather than imposing an external solution.