“We are at a moment of great loss but also great possibility for local journalism,” said Sarah Stonbely, the other co-author of the report and the director of the State of Local News Project. “With new data capabilities and an increased recognition of the importance of local news, our goal is to build on the foundation laid by Penny Abernathy to continue to provide vision and insight into this vitally important space.”

Tim Franklin, who directs the Medill Local News Initiative and serves as the John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, said this year’s report is especially significant because it illustrates for the first time the counties most in danger of losing local news. That gives leaders in those counties, philanthropists, investors and policymakers an opportunity to act before a news desert is created.

“In addition to documenting the current state of play, we wanted to make the report more forward looking and diagnostic this year,” said Franklin, who also serves as Medill’s senior associate dean. “The new ‘Watch List’ counties and ‘Local News Ecosystem Barometer’ maps provide valuable context, especially for policymakers and philanthropists working to address the local news crisis going forward.”

At the same time, Franklin said this year’s report provides some optimism for the future. “With our ‘Bright Spots’ map, we’re able to highlight where local news growth has occurred, and we profiled in detail 17 news outlets that are providing inspiration through new models for news.”

That map was supported by a gift from Microsoft and crafted by the team at Enlighten Designs in New Zealand.

“Healthy local news ecosystems are essential to thriving democracies,” said Ginny Badanes, senior director of Microsoft's Democracy Forward program. “Microsoft supports local journalism initiatives, and this important research about the state of the industry, as part of its commitment to supporting democracy. This is a story of hope about how critical infrastructure in local news is rebounding.”

The State of Local News Project is one of six programs under the umbrella of the Medill Local News Initiative, a research and development project aimed at bolstering the sustainability of local news.

The State of Local News Project is funded with grants and gifts from the Knight Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Lilly Endowment, Microsoft, Myrta J. Pulliam Charitable Trust, the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation and Medill alumnus Mark Ferguson.

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Another source of related news: STORM LAKE -- https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/storm-lake/

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