We can all agree that news is everywhere. Whether it comes from The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, or even TikTok, news is in your face all the time.
But is all news everywhere? Have you heard about The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and its stories on Mayor O’Connor’s goal to strengthen partnerships with Pittsburgh public schools? Or Mississippi Today’s article about teacher shortages in the Mississippi Delta district?
To put it simply: no, all news isn’t everywhere. National outlets and major media corporations dominate the headlines, while local stories often remain confined to the communities they affect most. And local journalism continues to shrink, so does public awareness of the issues closest to home: according to the 2025 report on the state of local news by Northwestern Medill, nearly 40% of all US local newspapers closed last year. But what exactly is causing this decline in local journalism?
One major explanation is the rise of online and social media news. As media outlets have moved to social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, the world is increasingly getting its daily news from the TikTok pages of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal rather than their front pages. In fact, a 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that nearly one-third of young Americans get most of their news online from TikTok. This increase in social media use has disrupted traditional news outlets, the format many local newspapers cling to. Whether due to tradition or simply the appeal of holding a newspaper in hand, many local outlets either have no online newspaper at all or don’t know how to create one. And because local news outlets can’t digitize as quickly as larger companies, they’re left behind.
Why should people care, though? Who cares if local stories are dying when global news is at our fingertips?
The answer becomes clearer when local journalism is understood as a community resource. Local newspapers have the same relevance to a city’s community as a food bank would. Consider a food bank’s place in society: essentially a public good, a service necessary for many who seek it out on a daily basis. Although not everyone in the community desires or needs a food bank, it keeps the community alive.
Local journalism serves communities in the same exact way. Even if not every citizen desires the local gazette, countless people wait for their newspaper in their mailbox every day. By having local journalism incorporated into society, a sense of community and collective civic engagement is maintained. People become aware of which streets to avoid for theft, which organizations need help, and which school districts are undergoing reforms.
Moreover, we must consider the personal lives directly affected by losses in local journalism: the journalists themselves. For many early-career journalists, local news outlets are a perfect entry point to integrate into full-time professional journalism: a stepping stone between college journalism and national journalism. Local news outlets also welcome a diverse range of voices and perspectives, in contrast to larger outlets such as The Guardian or CNN, which have clear political leanings.
Just as importantly, many local papers are deeply connected to the culture and history of their communities. Regrettably, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has been in operation since the 1920s, yet it’s shutting down permanently this year due to financial setbacks. With more and more local outlets shutting down, decades worth of history goes down the drain as well.
Altogether, local journalism holds special value for small communities, providing both the necessary information and the community engagement small towns need. While major news outlets and newspapers have significant value, the “minor” stories matter too, because they are often the ones that shape people’s daily lives most directly.
