The crisis in the news

Jul 23, 2020

Margaret Sullivan, an award-winning journalist and former editor, dives into the critical crisis facing local news. She highlights the staggering decline in newsroom staff and the alarming rise of news deserts, impacting community engagement and accountability. The conversation explores how this erosion of local journalism affects political participation and identity, revealing how much we rely on these institutions. Sullivan calls for collaborative solutions and emphasizes the need for revitalization to strengthen communities and restore trust in journalism.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Local News Paradox

Local news is declining due to technological and societal shifts, not necessarily lack of interest.
People value local news but take it for granted, expecting free online access.

INSIGHT

Revenue and Local News

Despite past monopolistic practices, local news thrived due to sufficient ad revenue and subscriptions.
This revenue decline and subsequent staff cuts have severely impacted local news coverage.

ANECDOTE

Buffalo News Decline

The Buffalo News, once employing thousands, now has under 150, reflecting the sharp decline in local news.
Despite the decline, the Buffalo News' Washington correspondent demonstrates the value of regional focus.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

There’s been a lot of discussion lately — including on this show — of the problems facing national news. Cries of fake news, illiberalism in the administration, fractured audiences, the cancel culture debate, shaky business models, and more. But the truest crisis in news isn’t in national news. It’s in local news.

American newspapers cut 45 percent of newsroom staff between 2008 and 2017. From 2004 to 2015, the U.S. newspaper industry lost over 1,800 print outlets to closures and mergers. And it’s only gotten worse since then. This is truest crisis in American news media: That so many places are losing the institutions that gather the news, that bind the community together, that hold public officials accountable ands bring public concerns visibility. Vast swaths of the country are now news deserts — and it’s happening at the same time that the average news consumer feels like they’re drowning in more information than ever before.

Margaret Sullivan was the award-winning chief editor of the Buffalo News, then the public editor of the New York Times, and now the media columnist for the Washington Post. She’s also the author of Ghosting The News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of Democracy. This is a conversation about the economic, technological, and political forces that led to the devastation of local news; what happens to communities in the absence of health local news institutions; and, just as importantly, what we can do to save and revitalize local journalism.

Book recommendations:

Democracy’s Detectives by James T. Hamilton

Still Here by Alexandra Jacobs

Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir by Joyce Johnson

Want to contact the show? Reach out at ezrakleinshow@vox.com

Please consider making a contribution to Vox to support this show: bit.ly/givepodcasts Your support will help us keep having ambitious conversations about big ideas.

New to the show? Want to check out Ezra’s favorite episodes? Check out the Ezra Klein Show beginner’s guide (http://bit.ly/EKSbeginhere)

Credits:

Producer/Editor - Jeff Geld

Researcher in chief - Roge Karma

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices