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LOCAL JOURNALIST INDEX

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For the first time at a national scale, we’ve estimated how many journalists remain in each U.S. county, revealing a nationwide shortage of local journalists that’s more widespread and severe than previously understood.
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Severe and Widespread: Insights from Rebuild Local News President Steven Waldman

Data from the new Local Journalist Index can help leaders invest in, expand, and protect local journalism in underserved communities.

New Report Reveals Alarming and Widespread Shortage of Local Journalists Across the U.S.

Groundbreaking Data from Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News Reveals One-Third of U.S. Counties Lack the Equivalent of a Full-time Local Journalist.

The Rebuild Local News Coalition

Rebuild Local News is the leading nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition developing and advancing effective public policies designed to strengthen community news and information. Our broad-based organization brings together the largest alliance of local publishers and labor unions, civic organizations and newsrooms representing both rural and urban communities. Together, these 50 organizations represent over 3,000 newsrooms and 15,000 journalists working together to revive local news.

  • National Newspaper Association
  • The NewsGuild-CWA
  • Institute for Nonprofit News
  • National Newspaper Publishers Association
  • Local Independent Online News
  • Society for Professional Journalists
  • Public Media Company
  • National Association of Hispanic Publications
  • Association of Alternative Newsmedia
  • Center for Cooperative Media
  • Institute for Rural Journalism
  • National Trust for Local News
  • American Journalism Project
  • Solutions Journalism Network
  • Local Media Consortium
  • Report for America / The GroundTruth Project
  • Public Knowledge
  • PEN America
  • Trusting News
  • Media and Democracy Project
  • Military Veterans in Journalism
  • The Lenfest Institute for Journalism
  • Poynter
  • National Federation of Community Broadcasters
  • Mid-Atlantic Community Papers Association
  • Wisconsin Newspaper Association
  • Kansas Press Association
  • Arizona Media Association
  • Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association
  • Mississippi Press Association
  • West Virginia Press Association
  • Colorado Press Association
  • Maine Press Association
  • Wyoming Press Association
  • Alaska News Coalition
  • Chalkbeat
  • Black Voice News
  • Afro-American Newspapers
  • Ohio Center for Journalism
  • Tucson Sentinel
  • The Examiner News
  • Key Biscayne Independent
  • West View Media
  • Sierra Nevada Ally
  • Alameda Post
  • Wrangell Sentinel
  • Greensboro Latino
  • TAPinto
  • My Neighborhood News Network
  • The JOLT News

The Great Gutting of US Newspapers

THE DECLINE OF THE NEWS HOLE

The number of articles in 121 newspapers that were studied has plummeted as the number of reporters has declined dramatically. Source: News Hole by Danny Hayes and Jennifer Lawless

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HOW YOU CAN HELP

Are you, your publication or your organization interested in joining the coalition?

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How the government can help

The coalition also advocates for: antitrust reform to prevent newspaper consolidation, tax credit for consumers to subscribe to newspapers, changes to banking regulations to help small media organizations that server low and moderate income communities, and more.

Rebuilding local news will require a massive effort that must include a significant increase in philanthropic support, loads of innovation in the news business – and, yes, some help from the government.

Steve Waldman
Founder | Rebuild Local News