Amid the many upheavals in the news industry, local news is a pillar of civic life. Every community needs a reliable source of information to keep people informed about local politics, neighborhood issues and the activities of their government. And year after year, people say they trust their local news organizations more than national ones.
However, over the past decade local newspaper circulation and advertising revenue have declined. And thousands of newspapers have shut down in recent years. As a result, the number of local newsrooms is shrinking faster than coal mining, fishing and steel production.
In 2018, most people got their local news from either a daily newspaper or a local TV station. But while many newspaper companies have been struggling, some have found ways to thrive, particularly those that have shifted from a print model to digital access. Most people who get local news from a newspaper now do so online via websites, apps, email or social media sites. In contrast, most people who get their local news from a television station do so through a physical device (television) but some do it digitally through a website, app or even a social media post that includes content from the station.
Most Americans feel that their local news outlets are doing a good job in keeping them informed, holding leaders accountable and amplifying the stories of their community. And while partisanship colors views of national news, the same is not true for local news. Even among those who have a strong opinion about whether local news should be politically biased, most feel that local journalists should stay neutral in their reporting.