The Death of Local News

How to rebuild the local news industry.

By
15

Grayson Logue is joined by Steve Waldman, president of Rebuild Local News and co-founder of Report for America, to discuss the precipitous decline of local journalism and what should be done to revive the industry.

The Agenda:
—The state of local newspapers
—The consequences of journalism deserts
—The role of the internet
—What Report for America is doing
—Government-subsidized news outlets

Show Notes:
—Chris Stirewalt: Don’t Subsidize Local News
—Waldman: Republicans Lose Out When Local News Collapses

This content is available exclusively to Dispatch members
Try a membership for full access to every newsletter and all of The Dispatch. Support quality, fact-based journalism.
Start Your Free Trial
Already a paid member? Sign In
By
Comments (15)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
  1. Avatar photo
    JDW

    In the county seat of the county I grew up in they had a small newspaper for years. It got bought out by a big conglomerate and a few years ago they closed the paper. One of the editors reopened the paper on her own and now it is surviving as a standalone. If you ever wanted to talk to her for an interview, I could setup a meeting. She's been in that business for decades.

    Collapse
  2. Ross Gerber

    Maybe, because I live in Metro NYC, we have plenty of local news. On Long Island, we have Newsday, plus the 3 NYC newspapers. We also have weekly community newspapers. As for local tv news, the local abc station has local news from 4:30 am to 7:00 am, then 10 am to 11 am, then noon to 1 pm and then from 4 pm to 6:30 pm and finally from 11 pm to 11:30 pm and that does not include it’s streaming news service. The other networks have similar local news. So at least in the NYC metro area, we have plenty of local news. Even the local cable system has a 24 hour local news service. If you want more local news, move to NYC.

    Collapse
  3. Avatar photo
    Chany Ockert

    I definitely live in an outlier community. At a gathering of the community in 2018, the community identified local news as a gap in the community. It turned out that instead of wanting a free paper, subscribers in the community are willing to pay $52 a year for a weekly paper. It got started in 2019. The paper also has a significant number of ads from local businesses.

    Collapse
  4. Avatar photo
    Donald E. L. Johnson, Florida

    The easiest way to find local news here is to check the news posted on local TV stations' web sites.

    There is a local free and paid subscription service, but it doesn't do a very good job of covering the news I like.

    I think the Colorado Sun is a good role model for local news journalism, but even it leaves a lot to be desired.

    Reporting is an entry level, labor intensive job. Some people start their journalism careers on small weekly paper and work up. I did a summer stint on a small circulation Iowa weekly. Worked on the university daily as a sports editor, court reporter and general assignment reporter and then as the ad manager. Then I got a lucky break and started my career on a national business paper and moved from there to a major metro.

    These days, that ladder is harder to climb because there are fewer local papers and the national papers don't have a lot of turnover. So there aren't that many jobs available.

    Facebook, X and Nextdoor serve as local news sources for some people, but they tend to be dominated by people with agendas, complaints and services and things to sell. Nextdoor's local review committees often are very censorious so I don't waste time on the site.

    People don't want to pay for local news. Publishers can't make money producing local news because Facebook, Google, Yahoo, You Tube, Craigslist, auto, real estate and similar sites have taken over their markets.

    It's very hard to produce compelling local content because if you are too aggressive and controversial, you lose your news sources.

    Politicians and political candidates don't like critics.

    I've created several local media business models, but I am retired and don't want to start another business.

    So we live by local rumor and national click bate just as people did before the printing press was invented.

    Collapse
  5. Avatar photo
    Klw.Howard

    The decline of local news finally hit home in the past week. I live in Maryland, and, theoretically, the state legislature has been debating (will debate? has debated?) a bill to allow physician-assisted suicide. How do I know this? Because my Catholic parish, and other Catholic groups, have been emailing me to encourage me to contact my representatives to oppose the bill.

    It dawned on me that I hadn’t seen anything on the subject anyplace else. Out of curiosity, I googled, and aside from activist groups, I found (in the Annapolis paper) a single sentence in a single story that was listing the bills that were coming up.

    It seems like physician-assisted suicide is a big enough deal that the average person would be interested in knowing that the state legislature is considering changing the law. But, unless you’re already connected with an activist group with an interest in the subject, I don’t know how you would know.

    Collapse
  6. Avatar photo
    J Bryant

    Fortunately, local police departments are more than willing to write local papers' articles on local police and crime issues for them, free of charge. So that should help some.

    Collapse
    1. Avatar photo
      C C Writer

      I've seen stories with a reporter's byline that went something like this (and my wording reflects the same useless generalizations): A person was seen in the XX00 block of Main Street. Another person was seen nearby. Something happened to someone. Someone was transported somewhere. No one is in custody.

      How does that happen, anyway?

      Collapse
  7. Avatar photo
    Simon J. Dodd

    I have in my recallable life lived in three cities, two in Britain, one in the United States. In all three, and in any city I've ever visited and been unfortunate enough to encounter local news, the quality has been nothing short of appalling. In most markets, there is not enough news to sustain two television stations, a radio station, and a newspaper, nor the talent to process it. (Those who have the talent move swiftly to larger markets.) The result is an unbearable parochialism, a witless regurgitation of wider issues, often taken verbatim and without curiosity from the wire, and a vulture-like descent onto any halfway-legitimate story. So far as I am concerned, the death of this toxic legacy format, this above-ground pool of mediocrity, is nothing to mourn.

    Collapse
  8. J. Darby Ryder

    I think this is a really important topic. I finally canceled my local paper because they just weren't providing enough local coverage. I live in descent sized city with plenty of local issues, but the coverage was only negligibly better than the TV news.

    I think they need to think about going to a reduced run, like a Wednesday and Sunday publication that focuses on local and state news. No one goes to the local paper for national news anymore, and there isn't enough local news to justify a daily newspaper, so I feel like I'm not getting anything for my money when I go through the Tuesday paper and there is maybe 1 story I read.

    Also local newspapers could partner with local television to share resources. I know this is happening in some areas.

    Finally local newspapers should have an ideologically balanced editorial board. You can't turn off half the market when the whole market is barely big enough to support you. Have pro and con pieces on issues.

    Collapse
    1. Avatar photo
      C C Writer

      I still subscribe to 7-day home delivery of my major metropolitan daily, founded in 1847. I do it because I much prefer the reading experience on paper (vs. their horrible electronic edition or navigating news sites online) and because there's not much wrong with their editorial stance or the features. And the reporters and editors do take their watchdog role seriously and regularly print stories about funny business or bad policies in various city and state government bodies. On that side, they're really trying. I don't even roll my eyes (much) at the stories designed to appeal to younger folks and minority folks. Newspapers should have something for everyone, and that means not everyone will read everything.

      The business side of the paper, on the other hand, treats subscribers horribly, even more so than they have in the past. They keep on jacking up the price so it's outrageous. That is complemented by incompetent and offensive customer service. When the paper is not delivered, supposedly they redeliver. Except when they don't, and the customer service people now refuse to even answer questions about the entire subject of redelivery. The billing department also administers multiple slaps in the face to subscribers, with every statement. Their policies are maddening. It's almost as if they want us to go away.

      Collapse
  9. Avatar photo
    Wilhelm

    The death of local news was described by an old reporter friend of mine as "a license to steal." It's all too true.

    Good job, Grayson.

    Collapse
    1. Avatar photocircle-angle-nib
      Grayson Logue vertical-nib Author

      Thank you! We didn't get into it in this conversation, but there's fascinating evidence of how local papers closing leads to higher municipal borrowing costs in the absence of reporters keeping tabs on government spending and finances.

      https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304405X19301606

      Collapse
      1. Kalo

        This is a great point. Thank you.

        Collapse
      2. Jeff.Oster03

        Great job, Grayson!

        Collapse
      3. Avatar photo
        Wilhelm

        I've heard that referenced a couple of places. Thanks for the link!

        Collapse