The crisis in local news is 'worse than previously thought'

What you probably already know: Like a watering hole in late summer, local journalism is drying up. A first-of-its-kind report by Rebuild Local News and Muck Rack reveals that the number of journalists working in the United States has declined by about 75% since 2002, dropping from 40 journalists for every 100,000 residents to just 8.2. One in three U.S. counties doesn’t have a single full-time local journalist, according to the report. Data collected in the first quarter of 2025 showed the U.S. had the equivalent of 27,000 local journalists. “To put that statistic in perspective, that means that if you live in a county of 10,000 people, there wouldn’t be even one full-time reporter to cover all of the schools, the town councils, the economic development projects, basketball games, environmental decisions, local businesses, and local events,” the report stated.

Why? Areas with flagging populations aren’t alone in experiencing a dearth of local journalists. The report found serious shortages in many suburban counties that absorbed large population growth at the same time local news businesses were collapsing. Boone County, Kentucky (population 140,000), for example, lost the Boone County Recorder when it was shuttered by Gannett in 2022. Now, there isn’t a single local journalist there. For many remaining news outlets based in growing areas, skeleton crews are spread thin. Others are subject to the profit-driven whims of large, investor-backed parent companies that prioritize cost-cutting over long-term sustainability and community enrichment. Journalism salaries are failing to keep pace with inflation, not to mention the rising cost of living: the median yearly wage in 2024 was $60,280, based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Low pay persists as more women enter the industry. The percentage of women journalists in the U.S. increased from 37.5% in 2013 to just shy of 41% in 2022, and a Poynter survey found women held 46% of journalism jobs in 2023. Women, however, are still largely underrepresented in top editorial positions and leadership roles.

What it means: “The crisis is more severe and widespread than previously thought,” according to the report. Fewer local journalists means less local coverage, especially of any content that isn’t breaking news, including civic, education, business, lifestyle, and sports stories. Within newsrooms, journalists, particularly female journalists, have limited pathways to career success, and studies suggest women tend to leave the profession earlier than men over a range of issues, including lack of female leadership, work-life balance conflicts, gender-based discrimination, low pay, and the glass ceiling. Lack of newsroom diversity impacts an outlet’s coverage decisions and worsens employee retention.

What happens next: As the country struggles with divisiveness, finding ways to support local journalism becomes even more vital. There is reason for hope. Lee County, Mississippi, and the state of Vermont are case studies on how the situation can be improved. The former falls within the top 2% of counties with the equivalent of 52 local journalists for every 100,000 residents, according to the Muck Rack/Rebuild Local News report. This large increase over the national average may be due, in part, to an established local news outlet that was once owned by a local family and is now controlled by a foundation, rather than a large public conglomerate. In Vermont, home to 27.5 local journalists per 100,000 residents, “major new publications such as the nonprofit Vermont Digger and Seven Days have helped fill some of the gaps, and… few of the newspapers have been bought by private equity firms.”