Local News & Information

Perhaps this partly helps explain the sense of anger often seen among rural Americas. They have less local news — and don’t see themselves in their own media. Only 41% of those in rural areas said the local media mostly covered their communities; by contrast, 62% of urbanites said the local news had them covered. It’s likely that the decline of... See more

While Americans in polls report historically low levels of trust in the media, it could be in large part because much of the press hasn’t been speaking to the concerns of their everyday lives. It would mean incorporating the knowledge and skills of reporters like Heather Bryant, who grew up in rural Missouri, where her lower-income family would buy... See more

James Madison — a.k.a. Guy Who Wrote the First Amendment — argued that newspapers should have a massive subsidy from the federal government to encourage the distribution of newspapers. The “postal subsidy,” which provided discounted mail, would be about $46 billion in today’s dollars — bigger than the NASA budget.

The contract isn’t coming apart because people can’t access journalism, but because they increasingly don’t. People still want reliable, relevant information from sources independent of those in power in business and government. In fact, mountains of research suggest that people appreciate the ideal aspirations of journalism, and want news that... See more