The U.S. news model has changed significantly since we got our start in local news — one of us at a daily newspaper in Conway, Arkansas, and the other at a small-town radio station in Vermont. We got to know these communities, one south, one north, in the company of a scrappy band of reporters who covered community meetings, wrote about local leaders, and tracked issues that affected our neighbors.
A decadeslong transformation has decimated that kind of reporting.
Today, we confront a bleak journalism landscape. More than one-quarter of U.S. newspapers have shut down since 2005, according to a study by Northwestern University’s Medill School. On average, 10 local papers close every month. Local radio has traded news for “talk” and hemorrhaged audience as listeners have moved to podcasts and streaming audio. Only about one in five public radio stations cover their local communities.
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