Expanding Deserts

There are, of course, so many things to be concerned about these days — a pair of viruses, war in Ukraine, an uneven U.S. economy, democracy under threat, climate change — but a steadily burning brush fire is quietly wiping out community journalism, and attention must be paid.

In late June, the Associated Press noted that U.S. local newspapers are dying at a rate of two per week. Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications tallied 6,377 newspapers in the United States at the end of May — well down from 8,891 in 2005. Just since the end of 2019, 360 newspapers have shuttered, all but 24 of them weekly newspapers in small communities.

Fewer than half as many journalists are employed as in 2006, and the industry’s annual revenue went from $50 billion to $21 billion in that period, according to the Northwestern report. The result: “news deserts” are expanding. Some 70 million Americans now live in a county with no local news organization, or only one.

There are many reasons. The industry actually weathered the pandemic, but so many preexisting factors have created headwinds. A big issue is the move to digital, which is still in its nascent stages, and though the internet brought a wealth of readers, it hasn’t brought the same kind of revenue stream. That’s hurt print news organizations of all sizes.

The East End remains fortunate — community journalism is strong here, with numerous organizations, print, digital and hybrid. But it is not immune to the typical pressures, and when supply shortages drive up the costs of newsprint, as they have in recent months, you can almost feel the desert winds stirring, too close for comfort.

Unfortunately, the federal government punted last week on a small step that could have been extremely helpful: A payroll tax credit to help save local news organizations was not in the reconciliation deal announced by Democratic House leadership. It was a modest measure that could have provided immense relief at a time when it is most needed.

It’s also a way to fight inflation, believe it or not. By providing some tax relief to local news organizations, it could have helped offset some of the economic pressures and saved a great many jobs, and probably more than a few newspapers and websites. Meanwhile, it’s proven that communities without local news organizations face much higher municipal costs — with no watchdogs, local government becomes less efficient, and the cost of every service escalates. Investors, meanwhile, know less about what those governments are doing, and so see lending to them as inherently riskier, which raises rates. “Newspaper closures have a significantly adverse impact on municipal borrowing costs in the long run” was the conclusion of a study called, aptly, “Financing Dies In Darkness?” And that doesn’t even consider the greater likelihood of corruption when no one is minding the store.

If you’re reading this, you’re a news consumer, and we encourage you to invest in local news — wherever you get it — and realize that it truly is an investment that brings you returns, even as it helps keep the news desert from reaching your backyard.