New report describes civic impact of local news decline - Entrepreneur Generations

Map by UNC School of Media and Journalism's Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media

A new PEN America report "paints a grim picture of the state of local news in every region of the country. The prelude is familiar to journalists: As print advertising revenue has plummeted, thousands of newspapers have been forced to cut costs, reduce their staffs or otherwise close," Julie Bosman reports for The New York Times. PEN America is a nonprofit focusing on freedom of expression for writers of all stripes.

According to "Losing the News: The Decimation of Local Journalism and the Search for Solution", newsroom attrition has damaged political and civic life in America, leading to fraying communities and uninformed citizens who don't have access to important local information. "A vibrant, responsive democracy requires enlightened citizens, and without forceful local reporting they are kept in the dark," the report said. "At a time when political polarization is increasing and fraudulent news is spreading, a shared fact-based discourse on the issues that most directly affect us is more essential and more elusive than ever."

The report comes from dozen of interviews with journalists, elected officials and activists who described the impact of cutbacks in local newsrooms.  PEN originally planned to focus on news deserts when researchers began working on the project in 2017. "But the more research the group did, the more it realized that the original scope was inadequate: Since 2004, more than 1,800 local print outlets have shuttered in the United States, and at least 200 counties have no newspaper at all." According to the University of North Carolina professor Penny Abernathy's ongoing research into news deserts (she coined the term), 225 counties currently have no local newspaper, and half of all U.S. counties (1,528) have only one paper, usually a weekly.

And, Bosman adds, "many Americans are completely unaware that local news is suffering. According to a Pew survey this year, 71 percent of Americans believe that their local news outlets are doing well financially. But, according to that report, only 14 percent say they have paid for or donated money to a local news source in the past year."

The report offers some solutions: "It cites newer, digitally focused outlets like Chalkbeat, an online organization that focuses on education; Outlier, based in Detroit; and Block Club Chicago as examples of small but vibrant news sources that have stepped into the void," Bosman reports. "But a more comprehensive solution is required, the report suggests, including private donations and expansions of public funding."

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2QI5zVN New report describes civic impact of local news decline - Entrepreneur Generations

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