A Fading Local News Ecosystem
An estimated 50 million Americans live in counties with either no local news source or just one, according to the 2025 Medill report. But that number may not capture the real scope of the local news void. Surviving local outlets are increasingly owned by a small number of national conglomerates, and they operate with fewer resources and less focus on locally specific stories. Researchers coined the term “ghost newspapers” to describe previously bustling local newsrooms that are now minimally staffed or closed, finding that diminished resources also resulted in outlets publishing fewer original stories and more national wire pieces and significantly reducing their coverage of local community needs and events. Accordingly, news deserts extend beyond areas with minimal or no media outlets to include areas with news outlets that no longer focus on the local.
Between 2005 and 2025, the number of U.S. newspapers dropped from 7,325 to 4,490, according to the most recent Medill State of Local News report. Daily newspaper circulation, which averaged between 50 million and 60 million people at the turn of the century, now stands at just over 15 million. Such reductions, driven by increasing publication costs and decreasing profits, do not impact everyone equally. Closures have disproportionately impacted rural areas, marginalized and immigrant communities, and military bases and surrounding communities.
Similarly, non-English-language newspapers have declined, with closures particularly impacting Spanish-speaking communities, extending the desert beyond geography to include whole communities.
Filling the Gaps
These circumstances have increased the importance of alternative sources in many Americans’ news diets — notably, online “news influencers,” localized social media groups, and apps like NextDoor that allow citizens to post publicly about news and community events. Longitudinal survey research from Pew has consistently highlighted decreases in Americans’ use of local news sources, including TV, radio, and print news, and increases in their use of online-only sources, such as community message boards, social media sites, and news influencers. While these outlets can offer relevant news updates, they are not tied to the same professional ethics of journalism, nor do they have the same resources, practices, and access as traditional news sources. As such, these sources can fill the gap with entertainment-focused content as opposed to useful locally driven news and, in the worst cases, can push misleading information.
In non-English-language contexts, some news influencers on YouTube who have filled local information voids have been tied to the spread of misleading information about previous election cycles. For example, influential news influencers within the Vietnamese American community shared debunked theories about the integrity of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Medill’s local journalism report found that just over half of the individuals in news desert counties get their news from nonjournalistic sources, such as social media groups, influencers, or friends and family. Respondents reported that this satisfied their need for news, but the report also found that those living in news deserts reported far less trust in news media (46 percent compared to 59 percent in communities served by local news outlets). This raises concerns that alternative information sources seeking to fill news voids may damage trust in authoritative news.
Implications for Election Coverage
A lack of local reporting means that individuals do not have easy access to information about the specific voting procedures in their communities or in-depth coverage of local candidates, propositions, and policies. Election procedures can differ significantly state-to-state, and local reporting is vital for people to understand procedures where they live, not just so they can participate in the electoral process but so they can contextualize apparent irregularities. Without this local specificity, incidents can be taken out of context and used to fuel false narratives about election integrity.
In addition, research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found a correlation between a lack of local news and straight-ticket voting, which refers to voting the same party down the ballot. Willingness to vote different parties across different open positions — known as split-ticket voting — suggests an active engagement with local politics and an awareness of candidates running for local positions. The increase in straight-ticket voting, alongside the decline in local news, are warning signs that voters may not have access to readily available information about the entire slate of local candidates and their policy positions.
Lastly, there has been a rise in undisclosed paid content from news influencers, meaning that audiences may be consuming what they believe to be organic local content but is actually content paid for by campaigns and other political actors. As highlighted in a recent New York Times article on pay-for-play social media, content creators and marketing firms are being compensated to promote candidates or points of view, with few legal requirements for disclosures. Given the lax regulation around ad disclosures on social media platforms and the lack of transparency of some content creators, it may become increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine perspectives from organized influence.
Solutions for Navigating Local Data Voids
Against this backdrop, community groups have emerged that are committed to providing local and community-specific reporting to counter news deserts. Within ethnic media, groups such as VietFactCheck and Factchequado are producing civic education and election content in their community languages to fill gaps in accessible news for immigrant communities. Similar efforts are popping up from community organizations and, while they are not traditional journalism sources, they are committed to providing accurate, accessible information for non-English-language communities.
For those fortunate enough to have access to a quality local news outlet, it’s vital to secure the future of local journalism by showing support with attention and dollars. However, the reality is that a growing proportion of Americans are living in news deserts with either no or limited access to local reporting, or with “ghost” newsrooms that don’t produce locally relevant election reporting. When consuming information from online news influencers and local information ecosystems such as NextDoor and Facebook groups, it will be vital to do so with healthy skepticism, particularly around potentially polarizing topics. Voters should look to local election officials for confirmation of election procedures and trending election incidents to help clarify the facts and dispel rumors.
