Inside the 2026 State of Local News Report: Skyrocketing News Deserts, Rampant TV Consolidation and Emerging Startups

In the 10th episode of the State of Local News Podcast, host Tim Franklin—Professor, John M. Mutz Chair in Local News and founding director of the Medill Local News Initiative—speaks with the researchers and editor behind Medill’s 2026 State of Local News Report.

The report, Medill’s fifth annual assessment of the local news ecosystem, has expanded to include commercial local TV news for the first time, alongside a sharp rise in news deserts, continued declines in newspaper employment and readership and a wave of closures, mergers and ownership changes across the industry. Franklin is joined by Zach Metzger, director of the State of Local News Project; researcher John Volk, who led the report’s first deep dive into local commercial TV newsrooms; researcher Srishti Bose, who tracks and writes about local news startups; and Jennifer Kho, editor of the Local News Bright Spots feature. In this episode, the team discusses the report’s finding that 238 U.S. counties have no source of professional locally based news, an increase of 26 from the previous year. Metzger examines the forces behind the rise in news deserts, while Volk explains the implications of concentrated ownership in local television and the potential effects of further consolidation. Bose shares findings on 287 local news startups identified between 2022 and 2026, including where they are emerging and how they compare with communities in news deserts. Kho discusses the Bright Spots project and the outlets experimenting with new approaches to revenue, audience engagement and sustainability. The conversation also explores the closures and mergers reshaping local news, the interventions helping some outlets survive, and what the findings reveal about the future of local journalism.