The article is here; here are the Introduction, Part I, and the start of Part II:
Despite the sharp decline in the number of local newspapers, it's important to understand that other legacy news-delivery platforms—particularly local TV news—have not been suffering the same degree of loss. Pew Research Center found that local TV news actually saw its audience increase across the evening and late-night timeslots in 2020, and that local TV companies earned more revenue than the previous year. In fact, local TV was deemed to be on par with or outpacing cable and network TV. Pew survey data show more Americans still prefer to get their local news from television than from any other medium, including online. Even with an increasing preference for digital delivery, "local television stations have retained a strong hold in the local news ecosystem."
Why and how has local TV news managed to stay afloat while local newspapers close their doors? Even as we mourn the loss of local news from print media, we should not overlook its surviving sibling that continues to churn out news to small and medium markets. Why do some media survive in the face of competition from new, disruptive media technologies? What lessons might be learned? Is there a role that government might play? Yet with the loss of local newspapers, are broadcast stations and online platforms adequate substitutes for providing local news? Or is local broadcast news actually just on a slower decline compared to newspapers?
[I.] Surviving Disruption
Much of the blame for the fall of the newspaper industry rests with the rise of the Internet and online competition. For example, digital offerings have cannibalized the editorial side of the business as online aggregators. Social-media sites have become the alternate entry point for daily news as readers rapidly migrate to social media.
