Local media is closely tied to polarization. When you don’t have access to a local source of quality information, you’re less likely to vote, to volunteer, or even trust your neighbors. But when you do have access to that, it helps connect you with your neighbors around issues that really matter and builds common understanding.

that local journalism is a crucial facet of society that connects us to the places we live and the people who live around us and gives us a sorely needed sense of shared reality in an atomised age; that this kind of journalism has been decimated in Greater Manchester and pretty much every other community in this country because its old business... See more

In the absence of professional journalism—in so-called news deserts across the country—critical information systems are left to the algorithmic biases of a few social media giants. Dig further, though, and you’ll find block club newsletters, school newspapers, library workshops, public access broadcasts, grassroots community teach-ins, and... See more