Local news is a vital part of community life. It’s where most people get their information about what’s going on at city or town hall, school board meetings, the police and fire department, why nobody seems to be filling in that huge pothole on Main Street, and the like. These are not topics in the wheelhouse of national or international TV newscasts, nor even of most newspaper editorial staffs. They are the domain of community newspapers and, in some places, local digital startups.
But the future of local news is uncertain. Eight years ago, seven in ten Americans said they followed their local news outlets very or somewhat closely; today, that figure is down to six in 10. The decline is most acute among younger adults.
Americans are still relatively positive about the state of local news, however. Six in ten say they think their local news organizations are doing well financially, though that is down significantly from the high point of 71% in 2018.
And while fewer people follow their local news very closely, the majority of those who do still believe their local media are doing important work. In fact, more than half say their local journalists do a good job of covering the most important stories and doing it accurately. And while views toward local journalism are not as politically polarized as those toward the news industry overall, Republicans and GOP-leaning independents are less positive about their local news outlets than Democrats and Democratic leaners are.