In the past decade, local newspapers have been disappearing at an alarming rate. More than half of U.S. counties now have either no local newspaper or only one that is struggling to survive. A daily paper on the kitchen table used to be a familiar sight, but now, it’s become a rarity. And as print fades, community and local accountability go with it.
When a community loses its newspaper, school board decisions, small-town elections, local sports, zoning changes, and even neighborhood squabbles, all stories that rarely make national headlines, stop being told. These gaps create what have been aptly named news deserts: places where citizens just don’t have the information they need to participate meaningfully in their own community. In the past twenty years, the number of people in news deserts has grown from 37 million to 50 million. In 2024 alone, 127 newspapers closed their doors, meaning 2.5 closed down every week.
At the same time, a shrinking local press means residents increasingly depend on national news organizations to understand the world. These outlets do important work, but they aren’t built to cover day-to-day realities of thousands of different towns across the country. And when a handful of companies shape the news most Americans consume, the balance of power shifts. Having less voices ultimately means less diversity of perspective, a founding principle in our American democracy.
To fix this issue, sure, we could always create subsidies or tax cuts for newspapers, but I think there’s a better alternative. Community buy-in. Yes, people would have to be intentional about reading print newspapers rather than their easily accessible phones, but the benefits would be huge. Local print newspapers could be reborn in the modern age, and we’ve seen it done before, with vinyl records. All it takes is buy-in.
At The Spartan Review, we see this trend as a call to action. School newspapers, obviously very hyperlocal, are one of the last remaining news sources in many communities. While we can’t replace professional reporting, we can help preserve our community in every way that we can.
The disappearance of local newspapers isn’t solely an industry issue, but a democratic one too. For citizens to remain informed and communities to stay vibrant, it’s imperative that we protect and support local journalism.
