The State of Local News

Startling fact: over 70 million Americans now live in a so-called "news desert." It's a place without enough local news to support grass-roots democracy. Click here to view a highly interactive map of news deserts across the U.S. (thanks to Columbia Journalism Review) Even in areas with a local news source, newsrooms have become far less robust. Journalists have been laid off in droves, never to return. The amount of local news published has dwindled, sometimes to zero, which continues to cause more news deserts popping up every week. Bad things happen when a community's local news source disappears. People care less and others become careless. Voter participation declines. Without the watchful eye of a local news professional at city, county, or school board meetings, corruption has crept in under a veil of secrecy. And just like that, misinformation spreads. Word of mouth is the new local news source and false information spreads like wildfire. It is a void that leaves a community ignorant of what is really happening by not enabling an informed citizenry. What's government really up to? How do I decide for whom to vote? How well are my tax dollars being spent? How do I support my local businesses? What progress is the community making? How do I stay in touch with everything happening right here in my home town? How bad is it? Since 2005 over 2,500 daily newspapers have shuttered, leaving less than 6,500 remaining. Every week, two more disappear. In communities that lose their local news source, most will never receive a replacement. Consequently, communities that are less wired, remote, and economically struggling are hit the hardest. New dollars to innovate and sustain journalism are not invested in under-served communities. The good news. In a local news study conducted this year by Coda Ventures, 79% of American adults use local news to stay informed about their community, city, and county. They feel connected to their community, decide where they stand on local issues, find places and things to do, become informed to talk with people about what's happening locally, because they value being a better citizen. Readers of all age groups turn to digital news providers, like DecorahNews.com. As a 7-day news publisher, DecorahNews.com reaches over 52,000 unique visitors every month. Readers are hungry for local news: they visit a cumulative 220,000 times a month and view 750,000 pages. As the publisher and owner of DecorahNews.com, I can say that we are thrilled to be your local news source. Our news team works hard every day to bring you the local news. Our commitment is to be local, transparent, objective, and fair. We are here to sustain local journalism in Decorah for decades to come. We need your help. We need your support. Like any other media business, we rely on our good work to be supported with advertising revenue. We are grateful for our excellent customers that support us with their advertising budget. Thank you! We truly cannot survive without you. If you own or operate a business, please consider advertising your message on DecorahNews.com. Whether you're promoting a sale, launching a new menu item, asking the community to attend your event, listing homes to sell, announcing a business expansion or product line, needing to hire one or 100 new employees, improving your performance on search engines, or opening a new location, we are your trusted marketing and advertising partner. It's easy to get started, please reach out to me at Lon@DecorahNews.com. In the coming weeks, you will see opportunities for readers who aren't business owners to support our work, too. We only ask that if you enjoy DecorahNews.com and treasure the value of local news media here in Decorah that you consider supporting us. Please be on the lookout as we make new announcements throughout the rest of this year and the next. We are 100% committed to sustaining local news well into the future. Please join us on the journey, and welcome aboard! Lon Haenel is publisher of DecorahNews.com. You may reach him at Lon@DecorahNews.com or (608) 289-4070.