How Many News Outlets are Near You? & Did You Know That 204 US Counties Have Zero Local News Outlets?

In 2023, the rapid decline of local newspapers has outpaced predictions, with analysts now projecting that the U.S. will lose one-third of its newspapers from 2005 by the end of next year, earlier than the initially estimated 2025.

More than half of U.S. counties lack reliable local news coverage, with 204 counties having no local news outlet and 1,562 relying on just one, typically a weekly newspaper. A recent report designates 228 single-source counties as high-risk, particularly in impoverished areas in the South or Midwest, often serving communities with substantial Black, Hispanic, or Native American populations. This marks a concerning trend with a potential loss of the last local news source in these vulnerable regions.

Over the years, newspapers have been disappearing at a rate exceeding two per week on average. Since 2005, nearly 2,900 newspapers have vanished across the country, with over 130 confirmed closures or mergers in the past year alone. The majority, around 100, were weeklies, crucial as primary sources of local news in smaller communities. Presently, the country is left with only 6,000 newspapers, consisting of approximately 1,200 dailies and 4,790 weeklies.

Hedge funds, which once acquired numerous newspapers to boost profits amid industry decline, are now retracting. Recent shifts, such as a significant advertising slowdown, have compelled these funds to divest newspapers sooner than anticipated. Ironically, family-owned newspaper chains are repurchasing or inheriting these papers, though they lack the profitability seen in major family-owned firms from the 1990s.

Unfortunately, the lack of substantial investment in digital news replacements is exacerbating the spread of news deserts across America. Alternative local news outlets are sparse and primarily concentrated in metro areas with existing coverage. The report indicates that, for state and local news, there are approximately 550 digital-only news sites, 720 ethnic media organizations, and 215 public broadcasting stations in the U.S., contrasting with 6,000 newspapers.