Northwestern University’s latest State of Local News report identifies 238 U.S. counties without a locally based professional news source, an increase of 26 over the previous year.
Released October 13, the Medill Local News Initiative report counts 170 newspapers lost through closures or mergers during the past year. Those losses should not all be described as shutdowns: some publications were combined with other outlets.
This year’s research also adds commercial local television to its accounting, identifying 678 newsrooms producing local coverage. Its broader database includes newspapers, digital news publishers and public broadcasters.
Where radio fits
The findings raise a practical question for broadcasters: when a newspaper disappears, who attends the school board meeting, examines county spending and follows the courthouse?
A station’s signal reaching a community does not by itself establish that the community receives original reporting. Conversely, the study is not a comprehensive census of commercial radio newsrooms. A news-desert designation should not be presented as proof that no radio station covers an area.
The useful local follow-up is to identify who is doing the reporting, how regularly it appears and whether residents can obtain reliable information about decisions affecting them.
Sources: Medill’s 2026 report; Research methodology.
Prepared with AI assistance and source verification.