traditional media is suffering:
Non traditional delivery methods are gaining in popularity (even those provided by traditional media):
State of the News Media (latest available)
People are increasingly paying reporters directly for content and building a direct relationship with them, fueling the democratization of reporting, as well as the rise of the creator economy. Platforms such as Substack and Patreon are making it possible for journalists, reporting on their local communities or an industry, to work independently.
Source
“Eventually, young journalists may no longer see newsrooms as the ultimate destination.”
Spotlight on Research: Muck Rack’s 2025 State of Journalism report notes that 34% of journalists now publish work independently, with 61% monetizing that effort.
Newsletters are big. Substack is allowing newsletters to replace local papers in areas where they are folding. Examples of “creator journalists” that work independently include tech journalist Casey Newton’s Platformer on Substack. Here locally, Dave Bangert left the J&C and started his own substack, as did WLFI meteorologist Chad Evans.
Nonprofit and local independent news sites: The newest one, Mirror Indy, from FreePressIndiana, the 812, the Texas Tribune, The Messenger; Mendocino Voice; Sierra News online. And service organizations like Report for America that place journalists in newsrooms with needs.
700 network news sites: These networks, such as Patch, Axios Local, States Newsroom and TAPinto, have grown rapidly over the past five years and provide local news content to millions of readers. But the coverage of these networks is heavily concentrated in urban and suburban areas, with more than 95% located in 179 metropolitan counties.
Online sites: ProPublica and Huffington Post and Vox, many of these focus on specific areas like Courthouse News and SingularityHub
Niche news:
Spotlight on Research: Americans say the increase in the information available today makes it harder (61%), rather than easier, to be well-informed because people have to sort through lots of information to determine what is true or important. Fifty percent say there is so much bias in the news media that it is often difficult to sort out the facts.
Misinformation is rampant:
Spotlight on Research: A 2025 poll found more than one-third of journalists identify mis- and disinformation as the the most serious threat to journalism’s future, surpassing public trust and funding concerns.
news deserts are growing, and group ownership is leading to changes:
Spotlight on Research: A report found that there are 213 counties across the country without any news source, up from 206 last year, and 1,561 counties with only one source. Altogether, this means that almost 55 million people in the United States have limited to no access to local news. However, the consolidation of newspaper ownership is also an issue.
trust in traditional media is low:
Spotlight on Research: Spotlight on Research: Americans continue to register record-low trust in the mass media, with 28% expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly,” down from last year’s 31%, Gallup found. For the third consecutive year, more U.S. adults have no trust at all in the media (34%) than trust it a great deal or fair amount. Currently, 51% of Democrats, 27% of independents and 8% of Republicans say they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media.
Spotlight on Research: Americans still place much more trust in local news than they do in national news. In 2024, 74% of Americans said they had “a lot of” or “some” trust in their local news organizations, and 85% believed their local news outlets are at least somewhat important to their community. Another study found 54% of Americans say local news organization do not intend to mislead, misinform or persuade.
Spotlight on Research: A study finds that the public at large tends to put partisanship over truth when consuming news. This holds true across the political spectrum, education levels, and reasoning ability.
COM252: Writing for the Mass Media 