The total number of New York State daily newspapers declined from 62 to 54 between 2004 and 2019, while the number of weekly newspapers plunged from 439 to 249, according to the Rebuild Local News Coalition. 

This is part of a national trend.

The United States has lost a quarter of its newspapers since 2005 and is losing two a week (almost all weekly newspapers) on average, according to a report from Northwestern University’s Medill School.

In all 2,500 American newspapers have disappeared since 2005.

The picture is even worse when you consider the number of daily newspapers that now publish less than six times a week and the number of daily and weekly newspapers that have reduced reporting positions.

True, the impact is not being felt evenly. Some areas of New York State and other parts of the country have now become news deserts with no newspapers to report on the community.

Other places, like Long Island, have lost fewer publications. But in almost all cases the number of reporters has declined.

Should you care?

Newspapers are private businesses and like others are expected to face free-market challenges where there are winners and losers.

But newspapers are not like most other private businesses. They also serve a public purpose. That is why what they do is protected by the very first amendment to the Constitution.

And studies show that without a credible source of news, voter participation declines, corruption increases and residents end up paying more in taxes.

Cities where newspapers closed up shop have seen increases in government costs as a result of the lack of scrutiny over local deals, according to researchers who tracked the decline of local news outlets between 1996 and 2015.

Disruptions in local news coverage are soon followed by higher long-term borrowing costs. Costs for bonds can rise as much as 11 basis points after the closure of a local newspaper, according to Bloomberg News.

The news deserts also appear to be behind the rise in partisanship.

A 2020 study by Pew Research Center found Americans who mainly get their news on social media are less likely to get the facts right about the coronavirus and politics, and more likely to hear unproven claims.

Fewer reporters also mean less coverage of school board meetings, community activities and whether or not Nassau Congressman George Santos ever graduated from college.

The first questions about Santos’ personal finances and personal history were raised by a local weekly newspaper, the Locust Valley Leader, followed by more extensive coverage in The New York Times and then nearly daily revelations in other newspapers, including ours.

Neither Santos’ Democratic opponent nor the Nassau County Republican Party, which was supposed to have vetted him — twice — brought these facts to the public’s attention.

Just this weekend, Blank Slate Media reporter Robert Pelaez earned a well-deserved award for using the Freedom of Information law to get information on Nassau County’s crime rate and the notice villages give to residents about upcoming meetings.

If not for Pelaez, Nassau taxpayers would have had to wait longer for the crime statistics – if they received them at all.

But help for the industry may be on the way in New York.

The state Legislature has proposed legislation titled the Local Journalism Sustainabiliy Act that would provide $150 million in tax credits over the next five years to news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ.

The money is intended to serve as a bridge for news organizations to transition to new media. And a way to maintain and even grow the coverage of local communities such as ours on the North Shore.

Is this a handout?

Well, government regularly subsidizes industries, including agriculture and energy. The federal government still gives tax breaks for drilling for oil and growing food.

It also pays for research that benefits pharmaceutical companies and most recently agreed to cover the deposits for wealthy people and corporations with more than $250,000 in Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

The alternative, it was said, was a run on banks that would take down many small and medium-sized financial institutions.

Even large tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Twitter are protected by federal laws that say they are not publishers like newspapers so they are not responsible for libel or slander by those who are posting on their sites.

Newspapers are responsible. They need to make certain that what appears in their publications is accurate. Or face financial and legal consequences.

The tech giants, which receive an increasingly large share of advertising revenue, also get to boost their audience with news stories produced by newspapers without paying for them. Talk about an uneven playing field.

Closer to home, this year’s state budget includes $700 million in filming tax credits every year through 2034, many times more than what newspapers would receive over the next five years.

So the Local Journalism Sustainability Act may be considered a bailout.

But it would be fairer to consider the money as an investment and newspapers something akin to a utility essential to the operation of communities, large and small.

Newspapers, particularly weekly newspapers, serve many purposes.

They are a way for businesses to cost-effectively reach their audience. A town square for residents to express their opinions. A way to relay news from a trusted source. A safeguard against waste and corruption in government.

Newspapers are also a solution to the growing disinformation and polarization tearing the country apart.

If you want to preserve and even strengthen newspapers’ ability to serve your community, you can do something about it.

Tell your state representatives that the industry is worth an investment by the state. Now. Before it is too late.