The headlines are true: Local news is fighting to stay afloat.
Coming from a small town in Maine, a state where more than 170,000 residents live in counties with limited or no local news, I have seen the effects of the death of local news firsthand. Residents rely on Facebook groups and other social media platforms to know what happened in town hall meetings. With limited information, and increasing polarization nationally, my neighbors wage intense political feuds in their own backyards, using signs and flags as ammunition, and local elections face ever-decreasing turnout.
This is why I value student journalism so much: Local and student papers have the same mission.
Like with local news, as student journalists we have a proximity to our communities. We live in, operate alongside, and engage daily with the decision makers that we report on. We are the ones filling the gaps in reporting when no one else will. We are often the only reporters on the scene of events that affect our communities, the ones holding our college accountable, and the ones engaging directly with those we serve.
It was growing up in Maine that drew me to journalism in the first place, to assist my communities in understanding themselves better. I have since worked at local papers and have witnessed the engagement and trust they garner, as well as the impact they can have.
Two counties, with a total population of 90,000, have no consistent local news outlet at all. On top of this, three more counties have only one local news outlet each, meaning small staffed newspapers cover events in multiple towns across thousands of miles, which puts these areas at high risk of becoming news deserts, defined as areas with no local coverage.
The problems in local news aren’t specific to Maine. Over the past two decades, almost 40% of all local newspapers in the U.S. have disappeared. That equates to about 3,500 newspapers shutting down or being merged out of existence since 2005. In 2025 alone, more than 130 newspapers have vanished due to closures or mergers. The result: roughly 50 million Americans now live in news deserts.
This, of course, is having a detrimental effect on our political attitudes. Research has shown that the loss of local news generates polarization, lower voter turnout, and reduced government accountability. Local news is essential to our democracy remaining healthy. Local reporters sit in on Parent Teacher Association meetings, city council meetings, and attend community events. This allows communities to better understand what is happening around them and gives them the tools to engage in their surroundings.
In this news ecosystem, student journalism has become more than just an educational platform. While The Beacon’s newsroom is a place for learning — and we will always place that first and foremost — student publications are living and breathing places, documenting what will one day become the history of our campus and the surrounding city. As student journalists, we must acknowledge and respect this.
Since the encampment arrests in 2024, our college has been split on topics like free speech and campus resource allocation, which has caused visible fissures in our feelings of belonging as Emerson students. At the same time, we live in a deeply fractured political system in which politicians spend more time attacking one another than collaborating, under a presidential administration that deliberately stokes disagreement, not just when rallying its base, but in government spaces. In the wake of this, both on and off campus, students and faculty are scared to speak their minds for fear of potential discomfort or, in some cases, retaliation.
It is amid this discomfort that student papers are most necessary. It is not up to us to take sides; in times of division, it has been proven that doing so only deepens the problem. However, it is our job to emphasize context, nuance, and multiple perspectives. As historical note takers, it is our job to document, not brush over. It is our job to dive headfirst into discomfort, not away from it. And it is our job to dig deeper and reject the status quo. Anything else would be a failure of our purpose as journalists to uncover and document the world around us.
In the face of these news deserts, surviving local news outlets have been forced to change. They have focused on hyperlocal reporting and covering issues that national media overlook. They have prioritized credibility, fact-checking, and direct audience engagement to better connect with their communities. And like local news, we will do the same.
Moving forward, The Beacon will continue with our commitments to accountability, fairness, and highlighting student voices. We will continue to cover difficult stories and do the work that is needed, even when it is uncomfortable. We will also continue to grow, evolve, and follow our responsibility to readers and future students. As the journalism industry, political landscape, and our country continue to change, we will change with it.
There is still some hope. New local newspapers have popped up with the mission of filling the gaps that have been previously lost. My own hometown has recently opened its doors to a new paper, the Midcoast Villager, formed by veteran journalists who took big pay cuts to cover affairs in a comparatively rural region of Maine.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The newsroom of 29 employees covers two counties, serving a combined 80,000 people, and some community members have been hesitant toward the new reporters who, to some, have not yet proven themselves to be in touch with the locals. But it is a prime example of how local news can still be produced with grassroots efforts, and the passion that can drive it.
While we do not have all of the answers about what journalism looks like now, or what it will be in the future, I can promise we will assess every decision made at The Beacon with care and consideration. We are operating under extraordinary circumstances — on our campus, in the media landscape, and in our world — and we must adapt as such to the best of our abilities while remaining what we are at our core: journalists committed to reporting the truth.
