DENVER (CN) — The United States once boasted a range of competing newspapers with thick national and local news sections. Today, most cities and towns across the country offer only one local newspaper, if that, and its few pages carry far more syndicated content than local reporting by journalists living in the community.
Places with little or no local news coverage, called "news deserts," pose perils to civil society, according to Sarah Stonbely, director of the State of Local News Project at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications.
"Fewer newspaper reporters means power is not being watched," Stonbely said. "Leaders are not being held accountable. Local government corruption of all sorts increases. Fewer people run for election. Voter turnout goes down, so democracy itself suffers."
Solutions to news deserts can be found within their communities, contend academic and professional news advocates. Options include a change from for-profit business models to nonprofit entities with philanthropic supporters, or shifting reliance on advertising in favor of subscriptions. Greater community engagement seems to be the key.
Colorado publications fight to operate
Colorado illustrates the challenges nationwide. The Colorado Springs Independent announced plans in December to suspend publishing this month. The final edition of The Indy— a free full-color magazine-style weekly newspaper — was published Dec. 27.
"We ran out of money, plain and simple," said Indy publisher Fran Zankowski. "We realized in December there was not much likelihood of having enough revenue in January to pay our team, so we're suspending operations for now. It was a really tough decision to lay everyone off."
He hopes the publication can return by February.
"We're looking for any potential investors to help us revive and relaunch as a more financially stable publication," he said. "Losing the Indy would mean losing a critical voice in the Springs, leaving a really huge gap in news coverage of the city and adding to news deserts statewide."
According to Zankowski, the rural counties on the eastern plains of Colorado can barely sustain a single weekly or monthly newspaper, and southeast of Pueblo are three sparsely populated counties — Cheyenne, Conejos and Costilla— with no newspapers.
Many Colorado mountain communities are becoming news deserts, too, apart from resort towns like Aspen, Vail and Steamboat Springs. The northwest and southwest corners of the state are particularly barren, with a few exceptions, like The Durango Herald.
Denver was once home to The Denver Post and The Rocky Mountain News until its owner, E.W. Scripps, shuttered the publication. One year later, investment fund Alden Global Capital, the second-largest U.S. publisher behind Gannett, purchased the Post, which endures today with a circulation under 60,000 in a metro area of 2.9 million people.
"Social media has taken the place of the newspaper," said Larry Ryckman, editor of The Colorado Sun, a nonprofit online newspaper launched in 2018 by former employees from the Post. "Mom-and-pop newspaper publishers have a hard time keeping their heads above water, and no one is there to take their place."
"Conglomeration is a major reason for news deserts," Ryckman said. "Conglomerates are buying up established newspapers struggling to survive. Then they sell off the paper's real estate and other assets — like printing plants — jack up subscription and advertising rates, cut staff and squeeze every penny out of it that they can."
According to Medill's 2023 State of Local News report, Colorado has 140 news outlets, which include 112 print newspapers — 28 dailies and 84 weeklies, eight digital newspapers, 11 public broadcasting outlets and nine ethnic outlets. The count is down 3% from a year ago and more than 16% since 2004. Southeastern Colorado counties with no local news outlets signal the most extreme form of news desert.
