A new Knight Foundation/Gallup study seeks to better understand whether Americans care about the fate of local news organizations, what they value about these organizations and what could be done to make more of these organizations financially sustainable.
"Putting a price tag on local news: Americans’ perceptions of the value and financial future of local news" presents "sobering" findings, but it also points toward potential solutions for addressing some of the economic challenges facing many local news organizations.
"Encouragingly, many Americans consider local news organizations to be an important community asset and a source of community pride," the introduction to the report notes. "But, despite generally positive assessments of local news, our findings suggest that the financial base that supports these organizations is limited. This gap suggests a market failure — many recognize the benefit of the product to the public but are unwilling to pay for it. This report offers some evidence that education — both about journalism’s benefit to society, as well as the existential threats that local news organizations face — could unlock public support, including financial support."
