Report by Egreenews Staff and edited by Hugi Hernandez / Vanby Prince Jr.
A news desert is an area with little or no access to fresh, daily local news. Research from Northwestern University defines these areas as counties with one or zero local newspapers. In 2023, researchers identified 1,766 counties as news deserts. Since 2005, the United States has lost nearly 3,000 newspapers and 43,000 journalists.
The decline of local news has measurable consequences for government and civic engagement. In communities with weaker local news coverage, researchers find lower voter turnout, higher political polarization, and less oversight of public officials. A 2025 study found that when newspaper readership overlaps closely with a legislative district, voters are more likely to know their state legislators and complete their ballots. Those same legislators sponsor more bills, miss fewer votes, and serve on more important committees.
This report examines public policy actions taken by elected officials. The analysis focuses on three U.S. states: Illinois, New York, and New Jersey. These states have enacted the most significant state-level interventions to date and represent distinct policy models: tax credits for news organizations, payroll tax incentives for journalists, and a state-funded nonprofit consortium. The report also looks at international approaches from Canada, Australia, France, and Germany.
The analysis pays particular attention to how these policies affect specific demographic groups, including younger and older adults, lower-income communities, lower-education communities, racialized communities, politically polarized communities, and areas with historically low trust in institutions.
Theme One: Tax Credits as a Legislative Tool
Illinois passed the first state tax credit for local journalism sustainability. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act took effect in 2025 and provides up to 5 million dollars in annual tax credits for five years. Local news organizations receive 15,000 dollars per journalist employed in the past year, plus an additional 10,000 dollars per newly hired journalist. A single organization can claim up to 150,000 dollars per year. The program caps total credits at 5 million dollars annually, with 4 million dollars for the base credit and 1 million dollars for new hires.
Eligibility rules are detailed. A local news organization must employ at least one full-time journalist who lives within 50 miles of the coverage area. Digital-only entities must publish at least one community-related piece per week and have at least 33 percent of their audience in Illinois. Print publications must have published at least one issue per month and hold a USPS periodical permit or dedicate 25 percent of content to local news. Organizations that receive more than half their revenue from political action committees cannot claim the credit.
In April 2024, New York passed a payroll tax credit for local news. The program provides 30 million dollars per year over three years. Eligible news organizations receive a 50 percent refundable tax credit against the first 50,000 dollars of an employee’s salary, capped at 300,000 dollars per business. An additional 4 million dollars is set aside for new hires. The remaining 26 million dollars is split evenly between businesses with fewer than 100 employees and those with more than 100, ensuring smaller operations have access.
The bill had stalled for years but gained momentum in early 2024 after the formation of the Empire State Local News Coalition, which included more than 200 community newspapers. Labor groups including the New York State AFL-CIO and the Communications Workers of America also helped mobilize support.
Colorado took a different approach. Its 2022 legislation focuses on the consumer side. HB22-1121 creates an income tax credit for supporting local newspapers. Taxpayers can claim a credit equal to 50 percent of the cost of a local newspaper subscription or a donation to a nonprofit local newspaper, capped at 250 dollars per taxpayer. Small businesses receive a credit for local newspaper advertising up to 2,500 dollars per year. The bill also requires all state departments to spend at least half of their advertising budget with local newspapers. The tax credit ends on January 1, 2033.
The evidence for these tax credit models is still emerging. No peer-reviewed study has yet evaluated the Illinois or New York programs. Colorado’s program has been in place longer, but publicly available data on its impact remain limited. A 2023 study on French media subsidies found that despite a highly state-funded system, print circulation continued to decline, suggesting that subsidies alone may not solve underlying structural problems.
Theme Two: Direct State Funding and Public-Private Partnerships
New Jersey has pursued the most distinctive policy. In 2018, the state legislature passed and Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill establishing the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, the nation’s first publicly funded nonprofit dedicated to strengthening local news and civic engagement.
The consortium operates as a public-private partnership governed by a bipartisan 16-member board. Appointments include two representatives from the governor, four from legislative leaders in each party, six from state colleges and universities, and four at-large members. Since launching grantmaking in 2021, the consortium has awarded over 10 million dollars to local newsrooms, community groups, academic institutions, and nonprofit media organizations. As of May 2025, 32 grantees had produced 9,065 stories.
Funding for the consortium has not been guaranteed each year. In the 2026 budget cycle, the governor initially proposed zeroing out its funding due to budget constraints. After advocacy from the Free Press Action Fund and other groups, the legislature restored 2.5 million dollars for fiscal year 2026.
The consortium model is designed to serve underserved communities. Its mission includes supporting news startups and early-stage products that rebuild the community information network and grow the local news ecosystem. Grantees include projects serving rural Warren County, urban Trenton, and immigrant communities across New Jersey.
A case study notes that New Jersey has lost more newspaper journalists per capita than almost any other state since 2005. The original proposal came from Free Press, a media advocacy group, which suggested using funds from the auction of two state-held public television licenses to create an endowment for news startups. Initial efforts failed when most of the auction money was used to close a state budget gap. The eventual legislative success came through grassroots lobbying and bipartisan support.
Theme Three: International Policy Models
Canada’s approach operates largely at the federal level. The Online News Act, enacted in June 2023, requires digital platforms to share revenue with Canadian news outlets when they use their content. Google signed a 100 million dollar annual deal with Canadian publishers. Meta responded by banning news content entirely on its platforms in Canada.
The Local Journalism Initiative, launched by the Government of Canada in 2019, supports the creation of original civic journalism covering underserved communities. For the 2025-2027 cycle, the initiative has been restructured. The Community Media Coalition will distribute funds to ethnic media, community radio and television stations, and Indigenous broadcasters. News Media Canada will handle newspapers and online news services, including Indigenous publications. A Changing Narratives Fund will support the hiring and training of diverse journalists. The initiative funds over 400 journalist positions annually.
Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code, passed in 2021, was the first law of its kind. It forced Google and Meta into binding arbitration unless they struck commercial deals with news publishers. Facebook briefly blocked Australian news in protest. Ultimately, both platforms negotiated settlements worth around 250 million dollars per year. A statutory review found the code generated more than 30 commercial agreements. Yet in the same five-year period, regional Australia lost many newsrooms, accounting for 60 percent of all closures despite only 28 percent of Australians living outside metropolitan areas. A successor News Bargaining Incentive is now under consideration.
Germany’s approach is more restrictive. Freedom of the press is enshrined in the German constitution, which prohibits direct financial support for journalistic content. State funding is available only for structural projects such as exile programs for foreign journalists, training for journalism schools, diversity initiatives, and scientific research into alternative business models. Delivery subsidies for printed newspapers remain politically unlikely.
France spends heavily on media subsidies, 367 million euros in 2021. These funds support copy delivery, distribution networks, and anti-concentration laws. Yet print circulation continues to fall. Critics argue the subsidies have defanged French media, with wealthy plutocrats receiving much of the support while pluralism defaults to a narrow Parisian perspective.
Institutional Capacity versus On-the-Ground Reality
These policies share a common challenge: the gap between legislative intent and measurable outcomes for the populations most affected by news deserts.
University research has documented significant disparities in local news coverage by income and race. A 2024 study found that counties with average household incomes above 80,000 dollars can support a robust local journalism ecosystem with 10 or more outlets. Roughly half of U.S. counties have only one outlet or less. The local press is much more likely to cover politics in larger cities and those with more white and wealthy residents. In cities and towns that the press covers less frequently, local governments spend less on visible public goods such as fire protection, policing, and parks.
The effects on government accountability are measurable. A 2025 study examined local newspaper coverage of political scandals from 1990 through 2022. The researcher found that scandals now receive about 25 percent of the coverage they once did. That decline is directly related to reductions in newsroom reporting resources. When newspapers devote less coverage to a scandal, incumbents are less likely to leave office or receive lower vote shares when they run for reelection.
Another 2024 study used a survey experiment to test how information-rich reporting affects public support for infrastructure investment. The researchers found that more detailed coverage increases public support for preventive spending and imposes accountability penalties on local leaders who fail to invest.
The data on how state policies specifically reach lower-income, lower-education, and racialized communities are incomplete. Illinois program has been operational for less than a year. New York program began in 2024. New Jersey consortium explicitly targets underserved communities, and its 9,065 published stories represent real output. But no peer-reviewed evaluation has yet measured whether those stories reach the communities that need them most or what effect they have on civic engagement.
For older adults, the shift away from print creates its own challenges. In Germany, publishers have noted that older readers are the most resistant to moving to digital-only news. This generational divide in news consumption is not unique to Germany and has direct implications for how state policies structure their support.
The Periphery and the Center: North Carolina and Oregon
North Carolina and Oregon have no state-level policies comparable to Illinois, New York, or New Jersey. Yet both have produced significant university research on local news decline. They serve as natural comparison points.
A 2025 study at the University of North Carolina analyzed county-level data and found correlations between the decline of local news outlets and changes in civic engagement, voter participation, and political polarization. The University of Oregon Agora Journalism Center produced two comprehensive assessments, one in 2022 and a follow-up in 2025. The 2022 report found that local news outlets had shrunk or disappeared, leaving some communities without any source of local news. The authors wrote that the civic health of communities is tied to the fate of local news.
Oregon has no state tax credit, no direct funding mechanism like New Jersey consortium, and no payroll tax incentive. The Oregon legislature has conducted research but has not enacted a policy response.
This contrast raises a question that cannot be answered with current data: Do the policies in Illinois, New York, and New Jersey produce better outcomes than the absence of policy in North Carolina and Oregon? The data to answer that question do not yet exist. The Illinois and New York programs are too new. The Oregon and North Carolina research provides baseline measurements but not comparative policy evaluation.
Conclusion: Evidence Gaps and Next Steps
State-level policy responses to local news deserts have grown significantly since 2021. Three distinct models have emerged: direct tax credits for news organizations in Illinois, payroll tax incentives for journalists in New York, and a state-funded public-private consortium in New Jersey. Colorado offers a fourth model focused on consumer-side tax credits.
What is known from peer-reviewed research is clear. Local news coverage affects voter behavior, legislative accountability, government transparency, and public support for infrastructure investment. Communities with weaker local news ecosystems show lower civic engagement, higher polarization, and more corruption. The decline in scandal coverage has made it easier for officials to avoid punishment.
What remains uncertain is whether any of the current state policies can reverse these trends at scale. The Illinois and New York programs have not yet been peer-reviewed. The New Jersey consortium has produced substantial content and awarded millions in grants, but causal evidence linking its funding to improved civic outcomes is not yet available.
The data on how these policies affect specific demographic groups are particularly thin. No peer-reviewed study has yet measured whether tax credit programs lead to increased news coverage of lower-income communities, lower-education communities, or racialized communities. No study has tracked whether older adults are being served by policies that focus on journalist employment rather than distribution. No study has evaluated whether these policies reduce political polarization or increase trust in local institutions among historically low-trust communities.
Policymakers considering similar legislation will need to decide which outcomes matter most. If the goal is to maintain employment for journalists, tax credits may be appropriate. If the goal is to ensure that specific communities receive coverage, targeted funding mechanisms like New Jersey consortium or Canada Local Journalism Initiative may be more effective. The trade-offs are not well understood because the evidence base is still emerging.
Three Questions for Further Research
- Do state tax credit programs lead to measurable increases in news coverage of lower-income, lower-education, and racialized communities, and if so, after what time lag?
- What is the causal effect of the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium grantmaking on civic engagement and voter turnout in the specific communities it targets, compared to demographically similar communities that receive no grant funding?
- How do older adults news consumption patterns change when state policies shift support toward digital-first journalist employment rather than print distribution, and what are the downstream effects on their political knowledge and engagement?
Four Key Takeaways
- Peer-reviewed research establishes a clear causal link between local news coverage and government accountability, voter turnout, and public investment in infrastructure.
- Illinois, New York, and New Jersey have enacted the most significant state-level policy responses to date, using tax credits, payroll incentives, and a state-funded consortium model. No rigorous comparative evaluation of these models yet exists.
- International approaches vary widely. Canada and Australia use platform bargaining laws. France spends heavily on subsidies but print circulation continues to decline. Germany prohibits direct subsidies for journalistic content.
- Data on policy effects across specific demographic groups such as younger and older adults, lower-income and lower-education communities, and racialized populations are almost entirely absent from the peer-reviewed literature.
One Policy or Practice Recommendation
Policymakers may consider pairing a supply-side intervention for journalist employment with a targeted grant program for community-specific coverage, such as New Jersey consortium or Canada Local Journalism Initiative, because evidence suggests that general tax credits alone may not direct resources to the populations and geographies most acutely affected by news deserts
Evidence Gaps and Next Steps
State-level policy responses to local news deserts have grown significantly since 2021. Three distinct models have emerged: direct tax credits for news organizations (Illinois), payroll tax incentives for journalists (New York), and a state-funded public-private consortium that makes grants to news and civic information projects (New Jersey). Colorado offers a fourth model focused on consumer-side tax credits for subscriptions and small business advertising.
What is known from peer-reviewed research is clear. Local news coverage affects voter behavior, legislative accountability, government transparency, and public support for infrastructure investment. Communities with weaker local news ecosystems show lower civic engagement, higher polarization, and more corruption. The decline in scandal coverage has made it easier for officials to avoid punishment for misconduct. The removal of newspaper public notice requirements reduces citizen engagement and public meeting attendance.
What remains uncertain is whether any of the current state policies can reverse these trends at scale. The Illinois and New York programs have not yet been peer-reviewed. The NJCIC has produced substantial content and awarded millions in grants, but causal evidence linking its funding to improved civic outcomes is not yet available in academic literature. The Oregon and North Carolina research provides useful baselines for comparison but does not evaluate specific policies.
The data on how these policies affect specific demographic groups are particularly thin. No peer-reviewed study has yet measured whether tax credit programs in Illinois or New York lead to increased news coverage of lower-income communities, lower-education communities, or racialized communities. No study has tracked whether older adults, who are more likely to rely on print, are being served by policies that focus on journalist employment rather than distribution. No study has evaluated whether these policies reduce political polarization or increase trust in local institutions among historically low-trust communities.
Evidence suggests that different populations will likely require different policy tools. The NJCIC’s focus on underserved communities and Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative’s dedicated streams for Indigenous and ethnic media represent one approach. The tax credit models focus on the supply of journalists rather than the distribution of content. Neither model has been rigorously tested for differential effects across demographic groups.
Policymakers considering similar legislation will need to decide which outcomes matter most. If the goal is to maintain employment for journalists, tax credits may be appropriate. If the goal is to ensure that specific communities receive coverage, targeted funding mechanisms like NJCIC or Canada’s LJI may be more effective. The trade-offs are not well understood because the evidence base is still emerging.
– Illinois, New York, and New Jersey have enacted the most significant state-level policy responses to date, using tax credits, payroll incentives, and a state-funded consortium model respectively. No rigorous comparative evaluation of these models yet exists.
– International approaches vary widely. Canada and Australia use platform bargaining laws. France spends heavily on subsidies but print circulation continues to decline. Germany prohibits direct subsidies for journalistic content for constitutional reasons.
– Data on policy effects across specific demographic groups—younger and older adults, lower-income and lower-education communities, racialized and marginalized populations—are almost entirely absent from the peer-reviewed literature.
Policy or Practice Recommendation
Policymakers may consider pairing a supply-side intervention for journalist employment with a targeted grant program for community-specific coverage, such as New Jersey’s Consortium or Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative, because evidence suggests that general tax credits alone may not direct resources to the populations and geographies most acutely affected by news deserts.
A persistent gap exists between formal policy efforts to support local news and the actual on-the-ground outcomes. State-level programs such as Illinois’ tax credit for hiring journalists, the California Local News Fellowship program, and Washington’s tech surcharge all represent innovative institutional responses. However, the scale of these programs remains modest relative to the scale of the crisis.
Illinois’ legislation, passed in May 2024, makes available $25 million over five years in refundable tax credits for local news organizations that hire and retain journalists. In its first year, 40 local news entities operating 120 outlets received $4 million in credits. The bulk of the funding has gone to newsrooms outside the Chicago area, with 30% granted to nonprofits.
California has expanded its commitment to local journalism fellowships with a $15 million budget allocation for early-career reporters and editors, funded through the state budget. The program has placed 38 new early-career journalists in newsrooms across 35 counties. Connecticut and New Mexico have also proposed fellowship programs for journalism graduates, though the data on their implementation are incomplete.
The gap between policy and reality is most visible in the discrepancy between program funding and the scale of losses. The $25 million over five years in Illinois represents a fraction of the revenue lost by closed newspapers in the state. The Washington tech surcharge, estimated to generate roughly $20 million annually, is similarly modest relative to the billions of dollars in digital advertising captured by platforms. Available evidence suggests that while these programs are well-designed and potentially impactful, they are not yet large enough to reverse the trend of local news loss.
Comparing Washington State—which has one of the most aggressive state-level programs to support local news—with a Great Plains county such as Niobrara County, Wyoming, reveals the limits of policy scalability.
Washington’s program benefits from a relatively dense population, functional broadband infrastructure, and a state government with the capacity to design and administer a complex grant program. The Washington Department of Commerce has the staff and expertise to make grants, monitor compliance, and evaluate outcomes. The state also has a base of existing local news outlets—digital and print—that can apply for grants and scale their operations.
Niobrara County, Wyoming, which lost one of its local news sources in the 2025 closures, has none of these advantages. The county’s population is under 2,500. There is no daily newspaper. Broadband access is limited. The county government lacks the capacity to administer a local journalism grant program even if state-level funding were available. Wyoming has no statewide daily print publication and no equivalent to Washington’s Department of Commerce local news program.
What works in Washington cannot simply be copied in Wyoming or other rural areas. The data indicate that large-scale, bureaucratically administered programs are effective only where the underlying infrastructure—population density, broadband, existing newsrooms—is already in place. For the most rural and depopulated counties, different interventions are needed. These might include subsidies for digital infrastructure, support for regional news collaborations that serve multiple counties, or direct appropriations to public media stations.
A concrete example of a hyperlocal intervention is the Plainsman Herald in Baca County, Colorado. The 137-year-old weekly newspaper nearly folded in 2024. The owner asked readers if the paper was worth saving. About 95% of respondents said they would pay more, even double, to ensure its sustainability. The newspaper survived on the basis of intense local support and a willingness to raise prices. This model—community-supported journalism through direct subscriber funding—is promising but not scalable to every county. Not every community has the disposable income or the organized civic culture to sustain a newspaper through voluntary price increases.
Evidence Gaps and Next Steps
What is known: The loss of local news is accelerating, especially in rural counties in the Great Plains, Southwest, Alaska, Appalachia, and the rural South. The federal government has not passed any major local journalism legislation, though bills such as the LJSA remain pending. State governments have responded with a mix of tax credits, direct grants, tech surcharges, and fellowship programs. The most aggressive state programs—Washington’s tech surcharge and California’s fellowship program—are still in early implementation and their long-term effectiveness is not yet measurable.
What remains uncertain: The causal impact of specific policies on civic outcomes. Do tax credits for journalist hiring actually increase the number of full-time journalists in rural counties? Does a state-funded fellowship program produce journalists who remain in the community after their fellowship ends? The data on these questions are incomplete. Longitudinal studies comparing counties with and without policy interventions have not yet been published.
What data are missing: County-level data on the presence of non-newspaper local news sources, such as public radio stations, digital-only sites, and ethnic media. The Medill data are the best available but are limited to newspapers and a subset of digital sites. Data on the relationship between local news loss and measurable civic outcomes—voter turnout, government spending, corruption—are available for some cities but not systematically for rural counties.
Questions for further research
1. What is the measurable effect of state-level tax credit programs on journalist headcounts in counties with populations under 10,000?
2. How do communities with a surviving weekly newspaper differ in civic engagement metrics from adjacent communities that have become news deserts?
3. What is the cost-effectiveness of state-funded fellowship programs compared to direct subsidies to existing newsrooms?
4 Key takeaways
1. The number of U.S. counties without a local news source reached 213 in 2025, affecting 50 million Americans, with 80% of these counties in rural areas.
2. Federal legislation has stalled; state-level responses vary widely, with Washington’s tech surcharge and California’s fellowship program representing the most innovative models.
3. Native American lands and Alaska face a distinct crisis, with tribal radio stations serving as critical infrastructure for emergency alerts and cultural preservation.
4. Policy interventions that work in denser states may not translate to the most rural counties, where different strategies are needed.
Policy or practice recommendation
Policymakers may consider directing a portion of state broadband infrastructure funds to support digital transition costs for rural weeklies that are at risk of closure, based on evidence that broadband access remains a primary barrier to digital sustainability in USDA-classified rural counties.
Below is a list of Foundations supporting transparency and journalism among other social causes.
| Philanthropy Name | Cause/Topic | Official Website |
|---|---|---|
| U.S.-Mexico Foundation | Civil society strengthening, education, economic development | https://www.usmexicofoundation.org |
| Friends Of Mexican Development Foundation Inc | Health, humanities, education, disaster relief, rural development, tourism, sustainable development | https://www.fomdf.org |
| Tinker Foundation | Equitable, sustainable, productive society; democratic governance, sustainable resource management, water management, education | https://www.tinker.org |
| Rockefeller Brothers Fund | Democratic culture, civic participation, transparency, anti-impunity, justice, reconciliation | https://www.rbf.org |
| Carnegie Corporation of New York | Democracy (support for Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) | https://www.carnegie.org |
| Bloomberg Philanthropies | Climate action (Youth Climate Action Fund), public health, arts, government | https://www.bloomberg.org |
| Mellon Foundation | Arts and culture (U.S.-Mexico border region, Frontera Culture Fund) | https://mellon.org |
| Open Society Foundations | Human rights, equity, justice, racial and gender justice, inclusive economic agendas, state capacity building, cultural expression | https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org |
| Ford Foundation | Civil society strengthening, organizational reengineering (CIVIC HOUSE), citizen expression, human rights (Participando por México) | https://www.fordfoundation.org |
| Rockefeller Foundation | Health, climate, energy, food security, economic equity | https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org |
| Tacombi Foundation | Food accessibility, education, employment | https://www.tacombifoundation.org |
| World Education And Development Fund (Worldfund) | Scholarships, operational costs for schools serving impoverished students | Unknown |
| Foundation For Mexican Art And Culture | Development, promotion, preservation, and dissemination of cultural, natural, and artistic traditions | Unknown |
| Mexican Coalition for the Empowerment of Youth and Families | Human services, youth development | Unknown |
| Conrad N. Hilton Foundation | Education and training for opportunity youth (Fundación EDUCA) | https://www.hiltonfoundation.org |
| Emerson Collective | Social Justice, Education, Independent Media & Journalism | https://www.emersoncollective.org |
| Omidyar Network | Responsible Technology, Civic Engagement, Independent Media | https://www.omidyar.com |
| William and Flora Hewlett Foundation | U.S. Democracy, Journalism, Education, Environment | https://www.hewlett.org |
| Craig Newmark Philanthropies | Journalism, Cybersecurity, Public Interest | https://craignewmarkphilanthropies.org |
| Chan Zuckerberg Initiative | Science, Education, Justice & Opportunity (including Local News) | https://chanzuckerberg.com |
| The California Endowment | Health Equity, Community Power, Independent Media | https://www.calendow.org |
| East Bay Community Foundation | Social Justice, Community Power, Journalism | https://www.ebcf.org |
| San Francisco Foundation | Equity, Social Justice, Independent Media | https://www.sff.org |
| Silicon Valley Community Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local News, Social Impact | https://www.siliconvalleycf.org |
| The James Irvine Foundation | Economic Opportunity, Local News, Journalism | https://www.irvine.org |
| The California Wellness Foundation | Health Equity, Wellness, Independent Media | https://www.calwellness.org |
| Stuart Foundation | Education, Public Media, Journalism | https://www.stuartfoundation.org |
| Heising-Simons Foundation | Science, Climate, Human Rights, Independent Media | https://www.heisingsimons.org |
| David and Lucile Packard Foundation | Children, Families, Communities, Local News, Journalism | https://www.packard.org |
| John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation | Journalism & Media, Social Impact | https://www.macfound.org |
| Robert R. McCormick Foundation | Journalism, Civic Engagement, Education | https://www.mccormickfoundation.org |
| The Joyce Foundation | Democracy, Journalism, Gun Violence Prevention | https://www.joycefdn.org |
| Field Foundation of Illinois | Social Justice, Independent Media | https://www.fieldfoundation.org |
| The Chicago Community Trust | Community Philanthropy, Journalism, Social Impact | https://www.cct.org |
| The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation | Journalism, Arts, Heritage | https://www.driehausfoundation.org |
| Polk Bros. Foundation | Social Impact, Community Information, Strong Communities | https://www.polkbrosfdn.org |
| Crown Family Philanthropies | Journalism, Environment, Education | https://www.crownfamilyphilanthropies.org |
| Woods Fund Chicago | Social Justice, Community Organizing, Media & Journalism | https://www.woodsfund.org |
| Crossroads Fund | Social Justice, Media Justice, Independent Media | https://www.crossroadsfund.org |
| Evanston Community Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local News | https://www.evanstonforever.org |
| Illinois Humanities | Journalism, Civic Engagement, Media | https://www.ilhumanities.org |
| Democracy Fund | Democracy, Independent Journalism & Media | https://www.democracyfund.org |
| Greater Washington Community Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local News & Journalism | https://www.thecommunityfoundation.org |
| American Journalism Project | Local Journalism, Social Impact | https://theajp.org |
| International Center for Journalists | Independent Media, Journalism | https://www.icfj.org |
| National Endowment for Democracy | Democracy, Independent Media | https://www.ned.org |
| Fund for Investigative Journalism | Investigative Journalism, Social Impact | https://www.fij.org |
| Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting | Independent Journalism, Global Issues | https://pulitzercenter.org |
| Wallace Global Fund | Democracy, Independent Media, Environment | https://www.wallaceglobalfund.org |
| Stewart R. Mott Foundation | Social Justice, Media & Investigative Journalism | https://www.stewartmott.org |
| New Venture Fund | Social Impact, Media & Journalism | https://www.newventurefund.org |
| Wellspring Philanthropic Fund | Social Justice, Independent Media & Journalism | https://www.wellspringphilanthropicfund.org |
| Arnold Ventures | Social Impact, Investigative Journalism & Media | https://www.arnoldventures.org |
| Houston Endowment | Social Impact, Public Media & Journalism | https://www.houstonendowment.org |
| The Meadows Foundation | Social Impact, Arts & Public Media | https://www.mfi.org |
| Communities Foundation of Texas | Social Impact, Local News & Journalism | https://www.cftexas.org |
| Austin Community Foundation | Social Impact, Local News & Journalism | https://www.austincf.org |
| Michael & Susan Dell Foundation | Education, Social Impact, Journalism | https://www.dell.org |
| Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation | Social Justice, Democracy, Independent Media | https://www.rapoportfdn.org |
| El Paso Community Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local Journalism | https://www.epcf.org |
| The Dallas Foundation | Social Impact, Community Journalism | https://www.dallasfoundation.org |
| San Antonio Area Foundation | Social Impact, Local News & Media | https://www.saafdn.org |
| The Brown Foundation, Inc. | Education, Arts & Public Media | https://www.brownfoundation.org |
| The Boston Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local Journalism & Media | https://www.tbf.org |
| Cambridge Community Foundation | Social Impact, Local News & Independent Media | https://www.cambridgecf.org |
| Essex County Community Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local Journalism | https://www.eccf.org |
| Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local News & Journalism | https://www.berkshiretaconic.org |
| SouthCoast Community Foundation | Social Impact, Local Journalism | https://www.southcoastcf.org |
| Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts | Community Philanthropy, Local News & Media | https://www.communityfoundation.org |
| LEF Foundation | Arts & Culture, Independent Media | https://www.lef-foundation.org |
| Mass Humanities | Arts & Humanities, Independent Media | https://www.masshumanities.org |
| The Boston Globe Foundation | Journalism, Community Impact | https://www.bostonglobefoundation.org |
| New England Foundation for the Arts | Arts & Culture, Independent Media | https://www.nefa.org |
| The Atkinson Foundation | Social and Economic Justice, Independent Journalism | https://atkinsonfoundation.ca |
| Inspirit Foundation | Pluralism, Media and Journalism | https://inspiritfoundation.org |
| Toronto Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local Journalism | https://torontofoundation.ca |
| Laidlaw Foundation | Youth, Social Innovation, Media and Journalism | https://laidlawfoundation.org |
| Canadian Journalism Foundation | Journalism, Media Innovation | https://cjf-fjc.ca |
| Vancouver Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local Journalism and Media | https://vancouverfoundation.ca |
| Hamber Foundation | Arts, Culture, Media, Journalism | https://hamberfoundation.ca |
| Calgary Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local Journalism | https://calgaryfoundation.org |
| Max Bell Foundation | Public Policy, Journalism and Media | https://maxbell.org |
| The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation | Social Innovation, Community Journalism | https://mcconnellfoundation.ca |
| Foundation of Greater Montreal | Community Philanthropy, Local Journalism | https://fgmtl.org |
| The R. Howard Webster Foundation | Arts, Education, Journalism | https://websterfoundation.ca |
| Victoria Foundation | Community Philanthropy, Local Journalism | https://victoriafoundation.bc.ca |
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4. Hayes, D., George Washington University, USA (2025). “The Local News Crisis and Political Scandal.” Political Communication. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/figure/10.1080/10584609.2025.2498533
5. Munevar, K., Nakhmurina, A. & Samuels, D., Yale University, USA (2025). “Newspaper Notice As Governmental Transparency Mechanism: Evidence From Florida.” Yale SOM Working Paper. https://som.yale.edu/node/274298
6. Usher, N. & Kim-Leffingwell, S., University of (citation via MediaWell) (2024). “How Loud Does the Watchdog Bark?” International Journal of Press/Politics. https://mediawell.ssrc.org/citations/how-loud-does-the-watchdog-bark-a-reconsideration-of-losing-local-journalism-news-nonprofits-and-political-corruption/
7. Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (2025). “New Journalism Tax Incentive Program.” State of Illinois. https://dceo.illinois.gov/expandrelocate/incentives/taxassistance/new-journalism-tax-incentive-program.html
8. New York State Senate (2024). “Empire State Local News Coalition Celebrates Inclusion of $90 Million Local Media Tax Credit.” https://www.nysenate.gov/print/pdf/node/12035738
9. New Jersey Civic Information Consortium (2025). “Case Study.” https://njcivicinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Case-Study-New-Jersey-Civic-Information-Consortium.pdf
10. New Jersey Civic Information Consortium (2025). “2025 Impact Report.” https://njcivicinfo.org/press-release-2025-impact-report/
11. Colorado General Assembly (2022). “HB22-1121 Supporting Local Media.” https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb22-1121
12. CRTC, Government of Canada (2025). “Commercial Radio News Fund.” https://web.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2025/2025-193.htm
13. Government of Canada (2025). “CRTC takes action to support local news.” https://www.canada.ca/en/radio-television-telecommunications/news/2025/08/crtc-takes-action-to-support-local-news.html
14. News Media Canada (2025). “Confirmation of plans for 2025-2027 Local Journalism Initiative.” https://nmc-mic.ca/2025/09/12/news-media-canada-and-community-media-coalition-welcome-confirmation-of-plans-for-2025-2027-local-journalism-initiative/
15. Government of Canada (2025). “Online News Act Funding for Canadian News Businesses.” https://cjc-ccj.ca/online-news-act-funding-for-canadian-news-businesses/
16. Ukrow, J., Institute of European Media Law (2025). “[DE]Rhineland-Palatinate state media law amended.” IRIS Legal Observations. https://merlin.obs.coe.int/article/10389
17. Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Germany (2025). “Apply for state funding for a model project to protect and structurally strengthen journalistic work.” https://verwaltungsportal.hessen.de/en/leistung?leistung_id=B100019_102541840®schl=083275004010
18. European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (2025). “Feindbild Journalist 2024.” https://www.ecpmf.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Feindbild-Journalist-2024.pdf
19. MediaLandscapes.org (2025). “France.” https://www.medialandscapes.org/static/country/france/media/print.html
20. Sherwood, S. & McGregor, S., University of North Carolina (2025). “Does Democracy Die In Darkness.” https://our.unc.edu/abstract/sherwood-does-democracy-die-in-darkness-a-county-level-analysis-of-local-news-and-civic-shifts/
21. Lawrence, R., University of Oregon Agora Journalism Center (2022). “UO study highlights local news gaps.” https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/01/uo-study-highlights-local-news-gaps-how-to-boost-oregons-civic-information-infrastructure/
22. Australian Treasury (2025 via PIJI). “News Media Bargaining Code statutory review.” https://piji.com.au/allan-fels-the-future-of-the-media-bargaining-code-in-the-new-parliament/
23. Australian Government (2026 via Mi3). “News Bargaining Incentive draft legislation.” https://www.mi-3.com.au/news-media-bargaining-code-big-techs-news-bill-becomes-tax-maths-problem-canberra-rewires-platform
24. University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication (2024). “A Conversation about the Health of Local News.” https://hsjmc.umn.edu/news/conversation-about-health-local/news
25. Colorado General Assembly (2022). “HB22-1121 Supporting Local Media.” https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb22-1121
26. Sherwood, S. & McGregor, S., University of North Carolina (2025). “Does Democracy Die In Darkness.” https://our.unc.edu/abstract/sherwood-does-democracy-die-in-darkness-a-county-level-analysis-of-local-news-and-civic-shifts/
27. Lawrence, R., University of Oregon Agora Journalism Center (2022). “UO study highlights local news gaps.” https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/01/uo-study-highlights-local-news-gaps-how-to-boost-oregons-civic-information-infrastructure/
28. Ferrier, M., Elon University (2016). “Michelle Ferrier’s ‘media deserts’ research kicks off.” https://www.elon.edu/u/2012/01/23/ferriers-media-deserts/
29. “Visualizing the Power of Universities: Maps and News Desert Solutions,” The University of Vermont (2023). https://contentdm.uvm.edu/ccn/research-reports-and-case-studies/visualizing-power-universities-maps-and-news-desert
#NewsDeserts #LocalJournalismPolicy #CivicInfoConsortium #SustainableJournalism #MediaAccountability
