There is a national day for just about everything. There are 868 designated days in April alone, ranging from the serious (National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day) to the amusing (National Hug Your Dog Day). April 9th marks the debut of a new holiday that I can really get behind. It’s National Local News Day. It’s the brainchild of a coalition of journalists, nonprofit leaders, and media innovators including Montana Free Press and American Journalism Project. More than 1,000 local newsrooms have registered on the website. Sponsors include The New York Times, Google, and Press Forward, a coalition whose 120 funders have invested $400 million in local news since 2023.
National Local News Day is designed to be both a recognition of the precarious state of local journalism in this country and a celebration of efforts to keep the torch of local information lit.
It’s an understatement to say it’s a difficult time for local news. According to Northwestern University, roughly 50 million Americans live with limited or no access to local news. According to Poynter, the country has lost nearly 3,500 newspapers and more than 270,000 newspaper jobs over the past two decades. Many formerly proud local news institutions have been gobbled and gutted by media Goliaths such as Gannett and Alden Global Capital that fired most of their staff and replaced in-depth journalism with shallow, generic coverage that is a shadow of what readers used to expect. It’s not just print that is in danger. More than 300 local PBS and 246 NPR stations nationwide are coping with the aftermath of Congress eliminating more than a billion dollars in previously allocated funding.
Local news covers what national outlets won’t: school board decisions, city council meetings, community organizations, and small business openings. As the co-founder of the Marblehead Current Leigh Blander said at a local news panel discussion I attended, “We’re at 12 meetings a week. People know us and trust us.” Local news outlets hold officials accountable for their actions and in times of trouble can be a crucial source of information to residents. Local news outlets also provide community visibility and credibility to nonprofits and mission driven organizations like those Teak Media is proud to represent. The absence of local news sources can lead to more corruption and have a negative political impact. Several studies suggest civic engagement decreases when newspapers shut down with one study finding a reduction in split ticket voting in communities without a local newspaper.
There are signs of hope. More than 300 independent local news startups have launched over the past five years, 80% of which were digital-only outlets. In 2025, 51% of the Institute for Nonprofit News’ membership were local nonprofit news outlets and 83% of local nonprofit news organizations have grown revenue by at least 10% over the past three years. Organizers of National Local News Day set up a Newsroom Locator to help readers find independent outlets near them. Searching Boston turned up some great media outlets including the well known and long lasting Dorchester Reporter as well as relatively new resources like Brookline.News, Gotta Know Medford, and Malden’s Neighborhood View. One of the most important voices in local news preservation, Dan Kennedy, keeps a running list of Massachusetts Independent Local Media outlets. Boston University has a program connecting more than 60 journalism students to 31 community partners. The partnership has led to more than 300 published stories. Talk about a win-win: the outlets get to expand their coverage at little or no cost, while giving the students published clips, which are the priceless currency students need to get jobs when they graduate.
So what are the best ways to celebrate National Local News Day? Support your local news outlet by becoming a subscriber. Organizers also recommend sharing local stories on social media using the hashtag #LocalNewsDay. It helps reporters when their stories are liked and shared by as many people as possible. Those of us in public relations can do our part by continuing to send local outlets good story ideas, provide reporters with everything they need to do the stories they select quickly and efficiently, and amplify the impact of the stories when they are posted. It’s incumbent on all of us to do our part to keep local journalism alive not only for ourselves, but for our communities. Happy Local News Day!
