I want local journalism. Why do I have to pay for it?

Now that readers have access to cheap or free news online and through social media, a question is asked more and more frequently: Why do I have to pay for news? The short answer to that question is that if we don’t pay, then local journalism disappears. The long answer is to look at the places in America where that’s already happened. As of 2026, 238 of the 3,144 counties in the United States are considered news deserts, according to Northwestern’s latest State of Local News report. That means that they have no reliable, local form of journalism. Twenty years ago, this number was 150. This stark increase is influenced by the digital age. Tech giants like Meta and Google are seen as cheaper and more effective for advertising than a local paper, so businesses want their ads there. Local journalism is then given what’s left, which isn’t always enough to keep newspapers alive.

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