#local journalism

US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a group of 14 senators in introducing a resolution designating April 2024 as “Preserving and Protecting Local News Month.” The resolution recognizes local news as a public good that serves an essential function in American democracy.

The senators report that many of those that haven’t closed “have been bought by hedge funds, subjected to relentless cost-cutting measures, and seen their newsrooms shrunk by nearly half. The current pandemic and resulting recession has only accelerated these trends.”