Washington’s local news industry is in crisis, and our democracy is suffering because of it.
Last year, Washington State University published the most comprehensive picture to date of our state’s local news industry. Researchers identified more than 1,000 active outlets in Washington, including newspapers, news websites, magazines, and radio and TV stations, but determined only 353 consistently produce original, locally relevant news.
And these outlets are not distributed evenly across the state. Twelve of our 39 counties have two or fewer local news outlets each, with Ferry and Skamania counties lacking any at all. On top of that, 25 counties are below the state’s county average in terms of news outlets per capita, leaving thousands of Washingtonians with less access to local news.
After Congress rescinded more than $1 billion in funding last year for public media, Washington’s local news landscape is expected to get only more dire, especially for under-served communities who rely on publicly funded radio and TV stations for news.
Local journalism’s decline is not just bad news for Washingtonians but for our democracy. It is a fundamental pillar of a healthy democracy and part of the reason why press freedom is enshrined in the First Amendment. When it comes to the elections and issues closest to home, only local news outlets can cover them with the care and attention our communities need to be informed. Local journalism helps ensure accountability and transparency for the smallest of our government institutions. As it fades, so does our democracy.
The erosion of local journalism also has serious consequences for our communities of color who rely on ethnic media to report on the issues they face. Univision, for example, withdrew local news coverage from our region two years ago, leaving Spanish-speaking communities with fewer sources of local information. At the same time, outlets such as Northwest Asian Weekly and the Latino Herald continue to provide essential reporting for their communities, filling gaps that mainstream outlets often overlook.
Without this media diversity, our local news environment becomes less reflective of the people it serves. It means fewer stories highlighting the voices and perspectives that may otherwise go unheard. For many immigrant, refugee, and multilingual communities, ethnic media is not supplemental, it is their primary — and sometimes only — trusted source of news and information.
At a time when the American public trusts local news sources more than they do national outlets, the Legislature has an opportunity to invest in growing Washington’s local news industry and, in effect, strengthening our democracy.
We have introduced legislation (Senate Bill 5400) to provide a lifeline for struggling local news organizations across Washington. This bipartisan bill would offer direct support to local news organizations to help them hire and retain journalists all while maintaining their independence, a necessity for any state investments in journalism. These grants would be funded by a new tax surcharge on the largest social media platforms, which profit from the advertising that journalists’ reporting helps support.
The rising dominance of big tech companies is not solely to blame for the decline of local news, but we cannot deny it has contributed to journalism’s financial challenges. For years, local news organizations have struggled with advertising revenue loss, declining subscriptions and ownership consolidations — problems that have only compounded as tech companies have come to dominate the digital advertising industry and divert viewers from news sites through aggregation.
Journalism is a public good, and its survival is essential if we want our communities to have access to quality news and information. When we invest in local journalism, we are also investing in equity — ensuring all Washingtonians, regardless of language, race or ZIP code, can stay informed and engaged in civic life.
We do not have to stand idly by as more news outlets disappear, deepening the cracks in our fragile democracy. Let us make a transformative investment that will save local journalism in Washington and help preserve our democracy.
Because once we take our democracy for granted and local journalism is gone for good, what will we do?
