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Many Americans say they have lost trust in national news—but most still believe they can rely on the accuracy of local news.

In 2023, trust in national newspapers, TV and radio reached . Just 32% of Americans said they have a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in these news sources. In 1976, by comparison, 72% of Americans said they had a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in mass media, including newspapers, TV and radio.

And in 2021, the United States ranked last in the trust citizens placed in news outlets.

Yet even as the is declining in the U.S.—more than 3,200 local and regional newspapers since 2005—Americans still place much more trust than they do in national news.

In 2024, said they had "a lot of" or "some" trust in their local news organizations, and their local news outlets are at least somewhat important to their community.

I am a former local journalist who . Local news can help people , stay aware of day-to-day events, such as , and even .

Despite their trust in local news, many Americans are not willing to pay for it. who say they pay for online news report paying for a local or regional newspaper.

The decline of local news

News organizations in the U.S. have long relied on commercial business practices—such as advertising from companies and subscriptions from readers—that since the mid-2000s.

Newspapers' advertising revenue peaked around 2005 and has from more than $49 billion a year in 2005 to less than $10 billion in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. This drop was driven by the rise of the internet.

As a result, the U.S. has lost of its local and regional newspapers since 2004.

Now, "" have become more common. This term describes places where there are not enough reliable news sources to help people get information about their local communities.

Of the local newspapers that remain, , as opposed to the daily local newspapers that were more common in the past.

With who closely follow the ins and outs of local and state issues, local newspapers are now for their actions.

Americans also read local newspapers less than they once did. , print and digital circulation numbers have dropped 40% for weekday news editions and 45% for Sunday editions among locally focused daily newspapers and their websites.

Instead, a larger percentage of Americans now turn to their than their local news outlets for local news.

Local news unites people, makes them more engaged

Despite local news' problems with declining revenue and readership, Americans still trust local news—and this trust crosses partisan lines.

A found that both Republicans and Democrats think local journalists are in touch with their local communities. The majority of Democrats and Republicans in this survey agreed that local news media "report news accurately," "are transparent about their reporting," "cover the most important stories/issues" and "keep an eye on local political leaders."

This might be because local newspapers people encounter in their day-to-day lives rather than on national politics. In many cases, readers are also able to more easily connect with local journalists in their communities and share story ideas or feedback.

People and become from their local news, making it an important component of developing a well-informed public.

Local news gives constituents information they need to monitor whether their local leaders are implementing campaign promises. People who regularly follow local news are more likely to , including voting in local elections, contacting a local public official and attending a town hall meeting.

The current local news environment

When people no longer have access to local news sources, or they stop following local news coverage, their , their , and in local elections, compared with those who do follow, read, watch or listen to local news.

Some Americans started relying more heavily on national news when local newspapers shut down, which research shows led to . found that when people trust a partisan-leaning national news source, for example, they're very likely to agree with the partisan-slanted news stories published by that source.

As nonpartisan local newspapers have vanished or downsized, has cropped up over the past several years. These sites publish news stories that are focused on local issues but approach it with a partisan bent. As a result, people looking for local news information may take in and interpret it as trustworthy.

Verifying the origins and intentions of information continues to be paramount for news consumers to make sure they are receiving accurate information—including when it comes to local news.

While the local news industry continues to face financial problems, research shows that local journalists could consider new content ideas to increase readers' interest, such as engaging with community members by .

Meanwhile, I believe that news consumers should consider whether they are and continuously support the local news they say that they trust. Without that support, their trusted local news source may disappear.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.