Nearly 40% of Local U.S. Newspapers Vanish, Leaving AI Short of Civic News
Updated
Updated · Boston Herald · Aug 21
Nearly 40% of Local U.S. Newspapers Vanish, Leaving AI Short of Civic News
1 articles · Updated · Boston Herald · Aug 21
Summary
Nearly 40% of local U.S. newspapers have disappeared over two decades, and Richard N. Lorenc argues that loss has left voters with less reliable information about candidates and government.
Medill and the book “News Hole” describe a steep drop in reporting capacity, with local residents now getting less coverage of city and county government than at any time in modern American history.
Lorenc says the internet has not filled that gap because it mixes reporting with disinformation, propaganda and other noise, often leaving no original local reporting to find online.
AI tools fare no better, he argues, because large language models depend on existing source material and can generate flattering or misleading answers instead of the nuanced facts informed citizenship requires.
As local newspapers vanish and AI fills the void with noise, what hidden forces are really shaping the civic information you consume daily?
Can emerging nonprofit news models truly rescue local journalism, or is the era of reliable community reporting gone forever?
If civic information is now considered infrastructure, who will pay to rebuild trusted news networks before communities are left completely in the dark?