A study published by the nonprofit group Rebuild Local News found that the United States has lost roughly 75% of its local journalist since 2002. The Local Journalist Index 2025 is a partnership between Rebuild Local News and public relations software company Muck Rack that maps how many journalists each county in the country has.
Some states fare better than others. Kentucky has 9.9 journalists per 100,000 citizens; Indiana has 8.8 and Ohio has 7.9. The national average is 8.2 journalists per 100,000 people.
On Cincinnati Edition, we discuss the decline in local news and what this means for communities — rural, urban and suburban.
Guests:
- Tim Franklin, founder of Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University
- Steven Waldman, president, Rebuild Local News
- Brittany Schock, audience engagement editor, Source Media Properties
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