Why Local NEWS?

January 27, 2020

Nieman Lab

One of the most prominent attempts, in Haverhill, Mass., is shutting down before ever launching. But its chief booster keeps hope alive.

https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/01/can-perennial-hopes-for-local-news-co-ops-ever-turn-into-reality/

January 12, 2020

New York Times

Like many local and regional newspapers, The Northeast Georgian of Cornelia, Ga., makes little money when its work is shared on big websites like Google and Facebook.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/12/technology/google-facebook-newspapers.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

December 30, 2019

MSNBC.com

Report for America is a program launched in 2017 that sends reporters to under-covered corners of America to bolster local journalism. Co-founder Charlie Sennott joins Morning Joe to discuss.

http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/journalists-head-to-under-covered-areas-of-the-us-75843653576

December 26, 2019

The Washington Post

First they started showing up thinner than before. Then they were printed on smaller paper, with local columns replaced by more out-of-town news. Then in some places, especially rural and down-on-their-luck parts, newspapers stopped showing up altogether.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/ghost-papers-and-news-deserts-will-america-ever-get-its-local-news-back/2019/12/25/2f57c7d4-1ddd-11ea-9ddd-3e0321c180e7_story.html

December 10, 2019

The New York Times

Anyone who’s worried about the state of local journalism faces a conundrum. On the one hand, good local news coverage brings big societal benefits, as multiple studies have found. When newspapers shrink or close, voter turnout and civic engagement tend to decline, while political corruption and polarization rise. Even I — a journalist, obviously — have been surprised by the magnitude of these findings.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/opinion/local-news.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

November 20, 2019

The New York Times

The loss of local news coverage in much of the United States has frayed communities and left many Americans woefully uninformed, according to a new report.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/us/local-news-disappear-pen-america.html

April 3, 2019

Slate.com

Companies like Google and Facebook left the local news industry in shambles. Are they really the best ones to save it?

https://slate.com/technology/2019/04/google-and-facebook-are-investing-in-the-local-news-business.html

January 31, 2019

USNewsDeserts.com

From our very beginnings as a nation, newspapers have played a vital role in building community. Strong newspapers fostered a sense of geographic identity and in the process nurtured social cohesion and grassroots political activism. The stories and editorials they published helped set the agenda for debate of important issues, influence the policy and political decisions we made, and build trust in our institutions. The advertisements they carried drove local commerce and regional economic growth by putting potential customers together with local businesses. Ron Heifetz, professor at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, describes a newspaper as “an anchor” because it “reminds a community every day of its collective identity, the stake we have in one another and the lessons of our history. “

https://www.usnewsdeserts.com/reports/expanding-news-desert/