The state of local journalism is widely, and correctly, understood to be grim. About 2,200 local print newspapers have closed since 2005, and the number of newspaper journalists fell by more than half between 2008 and 2020. In this special issue, we asked local journalists to tell some of those stories. In the years to come, many more efforts along these lines will be needed — at the national level, the grass-roots level and everywhere in between. Because when we lose local journalism, we lose a fabric that holds together communities; we lose crucial information that allows democracy to function; and at the most basic level, we lose stories that need to be told.

Source: Washington Post November 30, 2021 23:51 UTC