Local news is a critical part of many communities. It provides people with a sense of connection to the place where they live and work, and it can influence how they see their community’s problems and solutions. As a result, it’s important to have a robust local news ecosystem, and the health of this system depends on a variety of different kinds of news organizations, from traditional newspapers to nonprofit investigative journalism outlets to radio/podcast producers and digital-only start-ups.
The vast majority of Americans say they get local news at least occasionally, and a large percentage feel that local news is very or somewhat important to the well-being of their communities. And most people also rate their local media highly in terms of how they do at a range of specific tasks, such as reporting the news accurately and serving as watchdogs over elected officials.
However, there are signs that some of these positive views may be eroding. In our 2018 survey, for example, fewer people said they were very or extremely attached to their local community. And this year, we found that while the share of Americans who follow local news is still high, it is smaller than it was in 2018. Further, the majority of people continue to be unaware of the financial challenges facing their local news sources.