An alarming number of independent publishers and small chains closed papers last year, new Medill study finds

For years, the U.S. has lost more than two newspapers per week on average, thanks, in part, to growing consolidation. But this past year, the majority of closures were papers belonging to smaller chains and independent owners, according to a new report from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Medill’s 2025 State of Local News report tracked 136 newspaper closures over the past year, up from 130 last year. In total, the country has lost nearly 3,500 newspapers and more than 270,000 newspaper jobs over the past two decades, leaving 50 million people in “news deserts,” areas where people have limited or no access to reliable local news sources.

The closures this year primarily affected papers belonging to smaller, independent owners. They include the shutdown of the 141-year-old Chesterton Tribune in Indiana and the Eagle Times in New Hampshire, both of which left news deserts behind in their wake. The trend is concerning, said Medill chair in local news and professor Tim Franklin, because unlike the owners of large chains like Gannett and Alden, those independent owners tended to live in the communities their papers covered.