Local media outlets such as newspapers are shutting down in communities in Massachusetts and across the nation. Media experts told Jim Braude on Greater Boston that closures could lead to a decline in voter participation and an increase in polarization.
"We don't have local reporters in town hall asking the hard questions. They might fill up on regional beats, but that's not the same as being in there digging in the local communities. We need that if we're going to have a democracy," said Charles Sennott, co-founder of Report for America.
Since 2004, the U.S. has lost more than 2,000 newspapers, according to the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, leaving many cities and towns without reliable, local news coverage known as "news deserts."
Ann Marie Lipinski, curator for Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism, said without local reporters around to hold businesses and public officials accountable, violations and penalties increase.
"A newspaper goes out of business, corruption goes up, fines go up, the government has to monitor these things to a greater degree, there's a cost to society," Lipinski said.
Lipinski and Sennott said in the future, journalists need to raise awareness about the issue of news deserts and the public needs to demand local news outlets. In addition, they predicted that new models for digital, nonprofit news organizations will flourish and need support to fill in the gaps in coverage.
Watch: Who gets away when local papers shut down?
