Two hundred counties, and nobody at the back of the courtroom
The counted loss of local newspapers since 2005 — closures, hedge-fund acquisitions, ghost papers, and the nonprofit experiments trying to fill the gap.
A masthead can outlive its reporting staff, and the county is still counted as covered.
Photo: cottonbro studio / Pexels
Gannett After GateHouse: What the Merger Actually Produced
Traces the 2019 GateHouse–Gannett merger through its subsequent rounds of newsroom cuts, printing-plant closures, and debt load as reported in the company's 10-K filings. Examines the gap between the merger's stated rationale and the documented staffing numbers three years on.
Alden Global and the Tribune Papers: The 2021 Purchase, by the Numbers
Covers Alden Global Capital's acquisition of Tribune Publishing in 2021, the competing bid from hotel magnate Stewart Bainum, and the staffing and circulation figures at each of the acquired titles in the years before and after the deal closed.
McClatchy's Bankruptcy and the Chatham Asset Deal
Walks through McClatchy's Chapter 11 filing in 2020 and the emergence of Chatham Asset Management as the winning bidder, with figures on the thirty papers the company held at filing.
Medill's County Count: What 'No News Outlet' Means in Practice
Draws directly on Medill's State of Local News annual reports to describe the methodology behind the county-level data, what counts as a qualifying outlet, and what the 2023 and 2024 editions showed about the pace of change.
The Texas Tribune at Fifteen: A Nonprofit's Balance Sheet
Profiles the Texas Tribune's revenue model — membership, events, foundation grants, and university partnerships — using the organisation's publicly filed 990s and its own annual transparency reports.
The Bill That Did Not Pass: The Local Journalism Sustainability Act
Describes what the Local Journalism Sustainability Act proposed — a payroll tax credit for local news employers and a subscriber tax credit — and the legislative history of why it stalled in multiple sessions.
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Ghost Papers: Still Publishing, Rarely Read, Mostly Gone
Defines the 'ghost newspaper' as documented in academic and industry research: a masthead that survives in name while its physical presence, staff count, and publication frequency have collapsed to near-nothing.