Local News

Local newspapers have been hit particularly hard by the transition to digital news consumption in recent years, with many forced to shutter their doors permanently.

In Nebraska, 58% of all reporters covering the state capitol this year – 40 of 69 – are student reporters.

Nonprofit news reporters now account for 20% of the nation’s total statehouse press corps, up from 6% eight years ago.

The total number of journalists assigned to state capitol buildings is up 11% since 2014, though figures vary widely by state. And as newspapers employ fewer statehouse reporters, nonprofits are filling much of the void.

There are 245 newspaper reporters who cover the statehouse full time in 2022 in the United States, down from 374 in 2014.

In just five years, the percentage of Republicans with at least some trust in national news organizations has been cut in half.

Local television news programming has shed audience over the past decade, but it still garners more viewers on average than cable and network news programs.

Some 61% of U.S. adults say they follow COVID-19 news at both the national and local level equally, and 23% say they pay more attention to local news.

61% give equal attention to national and local coronavirus news.

While few Americans pay for local news, some people are more likely to do so than others – and most believe their local news outlets are doing well financially.