U.S. Local News Crisis Accelerates: One-Third of Newspapers, Two-Thirds of Journalists Lost Since 2005

Despite the emergence of digital outlets, the worsening advertising climate continues to drive the decline, leaving many counties without local news coverage.

Since 2005, the United States has lost one-third of its newspapers and two-thirds of its newspaper journalists, with an average of 2.5 newspapers closing each week in 2023.
Despite the emergence of digital outlets, the decline in local news outlets is accelerating due to a worsening advertising climate.
There are 204 counties in the U.S. with no local news outlet, and 1,562 with only one, usually a weekly newspaper.
Texas, the nation's second most populous state, has grown 50% since 2005 yet has lost 65% of its newspaper journalists.
Studies have shown that the decline in local news has increased political polarization, led to more political corruption and let outlets that spread misinformation fill the void.