Gregory J. Martin and Josh McCrain (Emory): Local News and National Politics. Finance is killing the news: The saga at the Denver Post reveals that the Internet isn’t the only culprit in the decimation of the journalism business. Did the fall of local news bring us authoritarianism in Washington? The news is breaking: Poor reporting and the chaos of social media have put responsible journalism in grave danger. The hidden costs of losing your city’s newspaper: When local newspapers close, city financing costs rise. The rise of the American news desert: Predominantly white rural areas supported Trump — they also often lack robust local media.
Pengjie Gao (Notre Dame) and Chang Lee and Dermot Murphy (UIC): Financing Dies in Darkness? The Impact of Newspaper Closures on Public Finance. Facebook and Google won’t save local news: There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of the two giants’ latest attempts to fill a void in local reporting. Why your city government should buy your local newspaper. A crazy idea for funding local news: Charge people for it. City magazines fill the newspaper gap: An appetite for hyper-local journalism hasn’t diminished, despite digital media’s disruptive impact. Hamilton Nolan on how to pay for real news.
A once unimaginable scenario: No more newspapers. Data lords: Josh Marshall on the real story of big data, Facebook and the future of news. Journalism isn’t dying, but it is changing in ominous ways: Without coverage at local and state level, misconduct will thrive. The local-news crisis is destroying what a divided America desperately needs: Common ground.
