The number of local journalists per capita in the United States has declined by about 75 percent on average since 2002, according to a report by the nonprofit Rebuild Local News and Muck Rack, an aggregator of journalism bylines.
That includes more than 1,000 counties — about 1 in 3 — that do not have the equivalent of a full-time journalist, according to the report, which attempts to quantify the scale of America’s local news shortage.
The report said that fewer local journalists means fewer watchful eyes on school boards, local sports, businesses, town and city government, and other important local institutions, calling the issue "more severe and widespread than previously thought."
"The loss of local news relates to so many other problems plaguing the US: Polarization, radicalization, loneliness, lack of trust in everyone and everything," Brian Stelter, CNN's media reporter, wrote on social media .
Previous reports have attempted To chronicle the loss of local newspapers as long-time owners sell them and more and more outlets are acquired by regional or national chains. The report from Rebuild Local News and Muck Rack, however, may be the first of its kind to attempt to count reporters, not outlets.
The report did so by using byline data from Muck Rack, which it collects from articles published online. Researchers created a process to identify profiles that represented local journalists, and then adjusted for the volume of articles published, freelance work and other factors.
The assessment found a widespread loss of local journalists in counties across the country.
"Thousands of rural, urban and suburban communities are being left without the basic reporting they need to stay informed, connected and civically engaged," said Steven Waldman, president of Rebuild Local News, told CNN's Stelter .
That includes many major metropolitan areas, such as Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, which have fewer local journalist equivalents per capita than the national average, the report said. That means some neighborhoods "might be covered if there's a serious crime but not much else."
It said, 'You may get little reliable information on local candidates in many of L.A. County's cities, whether the schools in your neighborhood are improving, whether the hospital nearby has a bad mortality rate, or how inspiring people might be working to repair your playground.'
The report highlighted New York City, San Francisco, and Suffolk County, Mass., which covers Boston, as major metropolitan areas with high numbers of local journalists.
Some states are also performing significantly better than others, the report said. Vermont, for example, has 27.5 local journalist equivalents per 100,000 people, a similar density to New York City. This is due to a combination of existing legacy media and new nonprofit papers that have gained prominence, the report said.
New nonprofit newsrooms have sprung up in cities around the country in recent years, especially as venture capital firms and major publishing companies have looked to acquire legacy metro newspapers.
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