What the death of local news actually means (2024)

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, July 24. I’m Gustavo Arellano, a metro columnist, which means I’m allowed to have opinions like:

Newspapers are cool.

But before I begin my rant, here’s what you need to know to start your day.

  • How the death of local news plays out.
  • How Nancy Pelosi navigated the Biden withdrawal.
  • Restaurant critic Bill Addison selected his favorite tacos in L.A.
  • And here’s today’s e-newspaper

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Whither the news industry in California?

Since I was a teen, I’ve lapped up newspapers.

I used to steal the sports section from the rolled-up newspapers on the driveways of homes on the way to Sycamore Junior High in Anaheim. When I realized there was more to life than just the Angels and Dodgers, I’d jump a fence every Sunday morning to buy copies of the Orange County Register and L.A. Times from news boxes in my neighboring apartment complex. Once I got a job my senior year of high school, I subscribed to those two papers along with the New York Times.

I went into journalism straight out of college despite earning a film studies degree — I’ve never regretted it. But as the years went on, I ended my print subscriptions because I could read for free on the internet most of what I used to pay for.

What the death of local news actually means (1)

An empty news rack that used to sell the Spanish-language newspaper Excélsior still remains along Bristol Street in a small shopping area in Santa Ana.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

It’s people like me who launched the proverbial Little Boy that destroyed too many journalism outlets to count.

But the Fat Man remains companies like Craigslist, Google and Facebook, which eradicated the traditional business model of news organizations — advertising. This one-two punch has led to mass layoffs, shutdowns and a society where misinformation reigns.

Two bills currently in the California Legislature, Assembly Bill 886 and Senate Bill 1327, seek to confront this digital dystopia.

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The former would require social media giants such as Facebook and search engines like Google to pay news outlets for using their content; the latter would use the revenue gathered from a proposed tax on user data gathered by Big Tech to gift news groups a tax credit for every full-time journalist they employ. The California News Publisher Assn., of which The Times is a member, supports AB 886, arguing it could give the state’s dying news industry — and local news — a lifeline.

(Tech companies vehemently oppose the bills, arguing it’s unfair to target them when the news industry hasn’t kept up with modernity and readers have more options to get their news than ever before.)

These bills aren’t merely a desperate money grab by the lamestream press, folks.

A limping media ecosystem affects society in many ways — few of them good.

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Times reporters investigated the decline of local news and what it actually means. Here’s what we found:

  • More big businesses control the narrative. The largest news source in Richmond, Calif., is owned by the Bay Area town’s largest business: Chevron. That means in a city where pollution concerns are real from the company’s refinery, its digital rag doesn’t say a damn thing, Jessica Garrison reported.
  • News that serves disenfranchised communities is ignored. Santa Ana is one of the most-Latino big cities in the United States. Twenty years ago, dozens of local semanarios (weekly papers) and all sorts of sports, entertainment and lifestyle magazines covered the goings-on of the city. Today, just two publications focused on entertainment fluff remain. I looked at how important issues affecting residents now get ignored.
  • Tech companies are intent on winning. Australia and Canada passed bills similar to what California legislators have proposed. Some money went to publishers, but tech bros created chaos by blocking news from their platforms, national correspondent Jenny Jarvie reported.
  • AI is only making things worse. AI chatbots might openly lift local journalists’ work and either pass it off as their own or mischaracterize it. “The average consumer that just wants to go check [out a restaurant], they’re probably not going to read [our article] anymore,” L.A. Taco editor Javier Cabral told Wendy Lee on AI’s effects on his scrappy indie site.
  • Even news nonprofits — long seen as a foolproof solution — are having a rough time of it: The Long Beach Post had eclipsed the 127-year-old Press-Telegram in readership and gravitas but now finds itself in tatters after nearly three-quarters of its reporters resigned over editorial and business disputes with management. Those defectors now have their own publication, the Long Beach Watchdog, James Rainey reported.
  • There are fewer reporters to hold power accountable. The people paid to objectively find out what people in power are trying to hide from you ... we’re losing jobs like the Halos are losing fans, Ashley Ahn showed.

I thank you, gentle reader, for reading this newsletter, offer you a virtual high-five if you subscribe to Essential California, and gift you a digital gold star if you are a Times subscriber. And if you read this without paying us? We pardon you — and ask you to subscribe. Hey, $1 for four months is a deal anyone can afford, amirite?

Today’s top stories

Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns at West Allis Central High School in West Allis, Wis.

(Kayla Wolf / Associated Press)

Kamala Harris hits the trail

  • Hollywood power brokers pushed for Biden to step down. Now they’re stepping up for Harris.
  • ‘Lawyerly, sharp mind’ or ‘dumb as a rock’? The ugly race to recast Harris is underway
  • Why Nancy Pelosi carefully navigated her approach to the Biden withdrawal.
  • What President Biden’s decision means for Gavin Newsom.

Coronavirus in California

  • The risk of developing long COVID has decreased since the start of the pandemic, a new study found.
  • Coronavirus wastewater levels are worse than last summer in California.
  • The rise in cases is clashing with everyone’s desire for a carefree California summer.
  • Here’s how to protect yourself from FLiRT subvariants.

How clean is your weed?

  • California officials are scrambling to test cannabis products for pesticides after a Times investigation.
  • The investigation found alarming levels of pesticides in cannabis products at California dispensaries.
  • Contraband Chinese pesticides present a new challenge for California cannabis regulators.

Fentanyl

  • The family of 3-year-old twins who died of a suspected fentanyl overdose is in shock. Relatives said they had no idea the boys’ mother used the opioid.
  • Their mother has been charged with murder.
  • Just last week, another toddler died of a fentanyl overdose. DCFS had trusted his mom’s friend to keep him safe

More big stories

  • A missing Monterey Park teen was found safe outside a local TV station.
  • Standardized test scores in LAUSD showed gains in math and English, positive marks after pandemic setbacks.
  • Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a 2026 run for California governor.
  • Elon Musk says he will move two company headquarters out of California. Some call him ungrateful.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

  • Editorial board: Trump and oil companies are lying to you about electric cars to serve their own interests.
  • Michael Hiltzik: The CrowdStrike meltdown reminds us that the hacking problem doesn’t come only from outside.
  • Mary McNamara: In memes and money, Kamala Harris’ note-perfect political instincts are paying off.

Today’s great reads

A plate of tacos is displayed at the Industrial Downtown Night Market.

(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

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How L.A. reached peak taco. To understand how Los Angeles became the world’s most taco-diverse city, let’s start with the taco truck.

Other great reads

  • They made millions on Airbnbs. Now they’re at the center of a ‘bait-and-switch’ lawsuit.
  • As competitors falter, SoCal’s Skechers is surging with strategy of ‘try and try again’

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your downtime

Tacos at Bandito Taqueria.

(Andrea D’Agosto / For The Times)

Going out

  • 🌮 Bill Addison’s list of best tacos in L.A.
  • 🎤 Jack White, the Mars Volta and Cigarettes After Sex will headline Desert Daze’s comeback festival.
  • 🎥 The Venice Film Festival lineup includes ‘Joker 2,’ plus films with Pitt, Clooney and Jolie

Staying in

  • 📺 8 Olympics documentaries to watch before the Paris Games.
  • 📺 ‘Two American Families,’ a new series on PBS, is the saga of working-class struggle and survival.
  • 📺 Paris Olympics TV schedule: Thursday’s listings
  • 🧑‍🍳 Here’s a recipe for Wild Arugula And Orange Salad With Baked Feta, Honey And Za’atar
  • ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

And finally ... from our archives

(Los Angeles Times)

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On this day in history, the Supreme Court voted 8 to 0 that President Nixon had to turn over transcripts of the Watergate tapes to Special Counsel Leon Jaworski.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team.

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor and Saturday reporter
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

What the death of local news actually means (2024)

FAQs

Why are local newspapers dying? ›

A lot of it is the online migration of advertising. But what it means for you is fewer reliable sources to tell you what's going on and why. Americans in "news deserts" tend to rely on social media to get the latest on their communities and beyond. But relying on social media for information can be less than awesome.

Why is local news important? ›

Local publications provide essential coverage of important community news. It has become common for events such as city council meetings to go uncovered in the absence of local news outlets, despite their importance to community members.

What is the meaning of local news? ›

Local news, in contrast to national or international news, caters to the news of their regional and local communities; they focus on more localized issues and events. Some key features of local newsrooms include regional politics, weather, business, and human interest stories.

How has the decline of local newspapers and the consolidation of media companies affected what is reported? ›

The decline of newspapers has various adverse consequences, in particular at the local level. Research has linked closures of newspapers to declines in civic engagement of citizens, increases in government waste, and increases in political polarization.

Why is newspaper becoming a dying habit? ›

Sadly, despite its countless benefits, reading the newspaper is becoming a dying habit. People nowadays rarely read newspapers because they can get real-time information on their mobile phones and computers. They also avoid picking up the newspaper because technological devices are more convenient for them.

How much longer will newspapers be around? ›

The decline of local newspapers accelerated so rapidly in 2023 that analysts now believe the U.S. will have lost one-third of the newspapers it had as of 2005 by the end of next year — rather than in 2025, as originally predicted.

What is the purpose of a local newspaper? ›

Local newspapers often showcase community events like carnivals, local theater productions and projects like park cleanups. These are great ways for readers to become more active in their communities and build stronger communities as a result. Local newspapers can benefit children.

What is the function of the local newspaper? ›

The media, such as newspapers, radio, television, and cable stations, function primarily to serve the communication needs of the communities or urban areas in which they are located. Local advertisers are often offered a special discount rate for advertising in local media.

What is the exact meaning of news? ›

News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. News is sometimes called "hard news" to differentiate it from soft media.

Why do people still buy newspapers? ›

Despite digital advancements, newspapers remain popular for a few reasons. They offer a tangible reading experience, depth in coverage, and reliability. Holding a physical paper provides satisfaction. Plus, newspapers delve deep into stories, unlike online news.

How many local newspapers have closed in the US? ›

A report on local news in the United States revealed that 2,627 weekly publications closed or merged with other papers between 2004 and 2023, with the number of non-daily papers falling from over 7.4 thousand to less than 4.8 thousand in that period.

What age group is most likely to get its news from print media? ›

Who uses each news platform
TelevisionPrint publications
Ages 18-2941%24%
30-4953%29%
50-6472%39%
65+85%55%
15 more rows
Nov 15, 2023

Why is print media dying? ›

The technological shift had a profound impact on the print media industry: traditional newspapers and magazines struggled to compete with the instant access and convenience provided by digital media, resulting in a decline in print readership.

Are there still local newspapers? ›

In less than 20 years, a quarter of America's newspapers have gone out of business. More than 200 of the country's 3,143 counties are now considered "news deserts:" they no longer have a single local paper. In more than 1,500 others, there is only one regional news source, usually a weekly publication.

What are the major reasons for the decline in US newspaper circulation figures How do these figures compare with circulations in other nations? ›

What are the major reasons for the decline in U.S. circulation figures? How do these figures compare with circulations in other nations? Rise of radio, network television, and the internet. While the US is experiences decreased readership, other nations are seeing an increase.

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