Community reporting can connect you to your community and give you a sense of belonging
By Mrinali Dhembla-Granite State News Collaborative
Local news reporting can help readers put national issues into a local context. How do federal cuts in Medicaid affect your local hospital? What education programs are affected by federal funding freezes? Who are the candidates in the next Senate race?
But local news also connects you to your community and can give you a sense of belonging. From changes in local zoning rules to a new obstetrics residency program launching at your local hospital to the opening of a local coffee shop, local journalists work to bring all that information, and more, to you.
“I think at its best, local journalism is really providing the essential information for people to make decisions about their communities,” said Jack Rooney, a former reporter and editor with The Keene Sentinel. “A lot of the issues that we face as a broader society can feel so big and complex and just deeply entrenched and almost intractable [in a local context].”
Most importantly, local news informs, encourages civic engagement and can help people understand what’s at stake in local elections. Is your property tax rate going up? Is crime on the rise in your community? Local journalism helps you understand local issues, empowering you to vote knowledgeably.
“Despite being the only local news (TV) station in the state, ’MUR has made sure that it does its best to keep communities informed about everyday issues. From traditional town meetings to local civic body elections, we try to do it all,” said Christopher Knapp, former senior producer with WMUR-TV in Manchester. “We’ll speak to people affected by changes in Medicaid, or how people feel about restricted school budgets in a particular town — issues that are only relevant to their own towns.”
Local journalism has been a mainstay of American life as far back as you can trace the nation’s history. For example: The Keene Sentinel has been in business since 1799, and proudly calls itself one of “America’s greatest heritages.” Over the centuries, the newspaper’s management has changed, the area’s demographics have evolved, news has moved from sheaves of paper to a website, but what remains intact is the drive to keep communities informed.
“I grew up in a suburb of California, and remember reading the local paper or sometimes enjoying the fact that my friends and neighbors would feature in it,” Knapp said. “It was a good way to stay updated on the latest buzz in town, especially at times we weren’t out participating in things such as an event in the park, or attending the opening of a new bistro in town.”
‘A real tragedy and also a real threat’
While local news matters, it is being met by a range of threats, including evolving technology, changes in consumer habits and the growth in social media as a source of information.
Nearly 55 million Americans live with limited or no access to local news, according to a Medill School of Journalism 2024 report. The country has lost almost one-third — nearly 3,300 — of its local newspapers since 2005, leading to the creation of “news deserts.” In New Hampshire, the number of local newspapers decreased by 28%, from 46 to 33, between 2004 and 2025, according to an updated review of statistics on a University of North Carolina database.
Decline in local news can also lead to increased political polarization, greater social isolation and government corruption.
“I think it’s more about getting the facts and letting the voters make up their own decision on who they should vote for based on the facts and the facts of honest reporting. That’s what we had,” said Jon Tester — a former Democratic U.S. senator from Montana, who lost his bid to a Republican candidate last year — told the Medill School of Journalism’s Local News Initiative.
He argued that when local news coverage declines, voters rely on national news to make decisions on who to support.
“Now, we just don’t have the reporting, so people just don’t have the facts, and then you have all this bulls— about everything’s fake news unless it’s fake news, and then it’s real,” Tester said.
Rooney echoed similar thoughts, and believes that the lack of local news polarizes voters.
“The decline of local news across the country is a real tragedy and also a real threat,” he said. “I think the less local news there is, the more people have to rely on national news or even stuff that is not news but masquerades as news, but is actually just partisan or polarizing.”
Rooney believes that the local issues at times don’t even fit into a national mold, and the absence of local news outlets only makes voters think about partisan issues through a national lens.
“We live in New Hampshire, and so a big part of government function, especially in the winter, is just making sure the snow is clear. That’s not a partisan issue,” he said. “We don’t need to buy into the same scripts that tend to dominate national news. We get to focus on the issues that matter right here in our community.”
This story is part of Know Your News — a Granite State News Collaborative and NENPA Press Freedom Committee initiative on why the First Amendment, press freedom, and local news matter. Don’t just read this. Share it with one person who doesn’t usually follow local news — that’s how we make an impact.