• The business model for newspapers is broken. Google and Facebook have taken most of their advertising business. Subscriptions don’t generate enough revenue to cover costs.
• From 2005-2020, a quarter of U.S. newspapers disappeared and half of all newsroom jobs were eliminated. A third of newspapers are expected to close by the end of this year.
• Nationwide, 200 counties are now “news deserts” with no reliable local news source, and more than half the nation’s counties have limited local news sources. Democracy suffers when communities have no source of credible local news:
• Fewer people vote and run for office.
• People are less engaged in their communities and political polarization grows.
• Accurate public health information is harder to obtain.
• Government costs more and corruption grows when reporters aren’t looking over officials’ shoulders.

Read more: The impacts on democracy 

“The Decline of Local News and Its Impact on Democracy” is available for download as a free PDF .

The study also can be purchased as a paperback book for $9.52 from Amazon.com and for $1.99 as a Kindle edition, also from Amazon.com.

The LWVUS has identified this position as a recommended item for concurrence at the 2024 National Convention, where a two-thirds vote is needed for passage.

The League of Women Voters of the United States believes it is the responsibility of the government to provide support for conditions under which credible local journalism can survive and thrive.

The LWVUS defines local news as accurate, in-depth coverage of government entities, including but not limited to, city councils, county councils, county boards of commissioners, health departments, schools, and school boards.

LN-1: The LWVUS supports credible and ethical local journalism, in whatever format it is published, as essential to our democracy.

LN-2: The LWVUS supports efforts to ensure everyone has access to information necessary for casting an informed ballot and that credible local news sources are integral to this pursuit.

LN-3: The LWVUS believes that support for the viability of local news may take a variety of forms. Control of the content must remain exclusively with the news organizations.

LN-4: The LWVUS also believes media literacy and news education, including support for journalism students, are essential. These opportunities should be expanded in schools and throughout communities.

LN-5: The LWVUS believes that everyone should have access to comprehensive, credible local news and that barriers to access should be removed. These barriers include, but are not limited to, geography, economic status, and education.

Read more: The Strength of Consensus 

See a list of Leagues who have expressed support for this position.

Government support for newspapers is not a new concept:

• Postage subsidies that allowed newspapers to be distributed at greatly reduced rates began as early as 1792.
• Publication of legal notices is required in newspapers and provides valuable revenue.
• The federal government financially supports public radio and television news.
• The position does not allow the government to influence content or censor coverage: “Control of the content must remain exclusively with the news organizations.”

Read more: The History of Government Support for News  and Talking Points  for supporting Leagues.

State and local legislation. States and cities have adopted or are exploring several public policy approaches. Your League will be able to advocate immediately for efforts to rebuild and sustain independent news outlets in your community.

• Tax credit for small businesses to advertise in local news outlets—Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Wisconsin. Also part of the federal Community News and Small Business Support Act.
• Tax credits for retaining or hiring local reporters—New York state, Illinois. Also part of the federal Community News and Small Business Support Act.
• Mandated government advertising spending to local newsrooms—Chicago, Connecticut, Illinois, New York City, San Francisco.
• Government-funded fellowships to place journalists with local papers for a specified period of time—California, New Mexico, Washington state. Can be administered by state university journalism programs or non-profits such as Report for America.
• Government-funded grants to local news organizations, independently administered and distributed by a nonprofit group with no government control—New Jersey.
• Subscription tax credits—Individual subscribers to digital and print local news organizations would qualify for tax credits on their tax returns. This could also include donations to non-profit news outlets. Massachusetts.
• Broadband expansion—The federal government is providing more than $100 billion to expand broadband access, much of it to states. Rebuild Local News has proposed that some of the funds go to local news organizations to improve their digital presence, especially in areas under-served by broadband and local news. Several states have indicated interest—Kansas, Maine, North Carolina.
• Business and occupation tax waiver—Passed in Washington state. State legislation waives the B&O tax for newspaper publishers for 10 years. It also includes eligible digital news outlets if they had a printed publication as recently as Jan. 1, 2008.
• Tax-funded coupons or vouchers that give residents the ability to support local newsrooms of their choice—Washington, D.C., Seattle. Seattle has a similar “democracy voucher” program to provide campaign funding to local candidates.
• Restrictions on the sale of newspapers to out-of-state entities—Illinois
• Funding for journalism studies and resource centers—Oregon.

Additionally, two bills pending in Congress would provide support for conditions under which credible journalism would survive and thrive.

• House Bill 4756. The Community News and Small Business Support Act would create tax credits for small businesses to advertise in local newspapers and for local news providers to hire and retain reporters.
• Senate Bill 1094. The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act would allow news outlets to collectively bargain with tech giants to be compensated for use and distribution of their original news content.

Read more: Legislation Your League Could Support 

• Leagues at every level could immediately begin advocating for legislative changes at their level of government, as described in Impact on Issues. Advocacy at the federal level is also possible, after approval of a federal request to LWVUS.
• Adoption by national concurrence of the Local News and Democracy position is a critical next step in LWV’s mission to empower voters and defend democracy nationwide.
• The position defines local news as accurate, in-depth coverage of government entities, including, but not limited to, city councils, county councils, county boards of commissioners, health departments, schools, and school boards.
• The position addresses concerns about publications that are mouthpieces for candidates, special interests or political operatives.
• Shortly after adopting the position, LWVWA representatives successfully advocated for state legislation that has reduced the publishers’ business and occupation tax to zero and extended the provision for 10 years.
• The position does not mandate direct government financial support of news outlets or operations, but rather states that government has a responsibility to provide support for conditions under which credible local newspapers can survive and thrive.
• Federal, state, and local governments provide significant relief to many private industries in the form of subsidies and tax credits.
• Much like the services provided by libraries, health systems and schools, a vibrant free press is crucial to our democracy and serves the public good.

The State of Local News 2023 : Vanishing Newspapers, Digital Divides, and Reaching Underserved Communities; report by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Rebuild Local News  reports on the news decline and efforts to address the problem.

Save the Free Press Initiative , The Seattle Times’ Brier Dudley writes regularly on the local news crisis in Washington and nationwide.

The Poynter Institute , a nonprofit training center for journalists and journalism educators, publishes regularly about the local news crisis.

Press Forward , a national coalition, provides credible information about the local news crisis and efforts to rebuild local news.

LWVWA Local News and Democracy Webpage, a publicly-available resource providing research on the connections between local news and democracy. It is regularly updated with new content in the Legislation We're Following and News About Local News sections.