Why DO WE NEED Local NEWS?

Local newspapers have been the backbone of communities for over 200 years, but during the last 20 years, they’ve virtually disappeared. Today, there are at least 1,800 news “deserts” that have no local or daily news.
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‍Local News Network is addressing this situation by providing FREE, relevant local news – shared as videos created for locals, by locals - to underserved news markets, and also providing local businesses with a way to easily, affordably and effectively reach their local prospects and customers.

Read below to learn more about the value of local news.

Newspapers May Be Disappearing But Need for News Remains

While the demise of Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily sent shockwaves through the publishing world-and was certainly precipitated by political pressure from Beijing-there is no doubt that local newspapers, the backbone of communities for over 200 years, have virtually disappeared.READ MORE

A quarter of all U.S. newspapers have died in 15 years

The relentless spread of news deserts was speeding up even before the coronavirus incapacitated local economies, and since then the rate has accelerated some more.READ MORE

Creative broadcast news solution Local News Network fills void in small news deserts

The Local News Network offers a new business model to help small and rural news deserts regain momentum. The broadcast outlet produces individual news stories that air at various video displays across each market. The stories are packaged with local business advertisements, which LNN produces, or advertisers provide.READ MORE

A Cornerstone of Democracy, Collapsing

In the internet’s early days, it seemed to have the potential to crush traditional print media. But its impact has turned out to be more nuanced.READ MORE

Can Engineers Design Better Paywalls For Local News Outlets?

This week's announcement that The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News would switch from daily to weekly distributionnext year was the latest indication of the plight of local newspapers. Amid the declines in revenue from advertising and classifieds, paid subscriptions and paywalls have become more important ways for publishers to monetize their content.READ MORE

New steps to preserve and protect journalism and local newsrooms

We’ve been looking at ways Microsoft’s technology and resources can help address some of the challenges journalism faces, and today I want to share some of the initial work of our initiative. It includes a new community-based pilot program that looks at ways to provide journalists and newsrooms new tools, technology and capacity, and expand reach for local news outlets.READ MORE

Americans are losing faith in an objective media. A new Gallup/Knight study explores why.

Americans have high aspirations for the news media to be a trusted, independent watchdog that holds the powerful to account. But in a new Gallup/Knight study, we’ve found the gap is growing between what Americans expect from the news and what they think they are getting. Perceptions of bias are increasing too, which further erodes the media’s ability to deliver on its promise to our democracy.READ MORE

'Ghosting The News' Author Says Local Journalism 'Freefall' Is Accelerating

More than 2,000 newspapers have shut down in recent years, and some regions have become news deserts. Washington Post columnist Margaret Sullivan says the collapse of local news undermines democracy.READ MORE

Covid-19 has ravaged American newsrooms. Here’s why that matters.

The irony is that while battering journalism, the pandemic has also underlined the need for reliable local news.READ MORE

The coronavirus has closed more than 30 local newsrooms across America. And counting.

At first, the pandemic cost newsrooms jobs and communities critical work. Now it’s starting to end entire newsrooms.READ MORE

Less Local News Means Less Democracy

When local journalism declines, so does government transparency and civic engagement READ MORE

U.S. newspapers have shed half of their newsroom employees since 2008

Newsroom employment at U.S. newspapers continues to plummet, falling by around half since 2008, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. But a modest increase in jobs after 2014 in other news-producing sectors – especially digital-native organizations – offset some of the losses at newspapers, helping to stabilize the overall number of U.S. newsroom employees in the last five years.READ MORE