SPEAKING OF FINANCE 4-30-2025
By Bryce Pease CFP® Accredited Investment Fiduciary®
Casey Morris CFP®
Capstone Pacific Investment Strategies, Inc.
California, Colorado, Nebraska
Newspapers across the United States are closing at a staggering pace of more than two per week, deepening a crisis in local journalism, according to the latest report from Northwestern University’s Local News Initiative.¹ The 2024 State of Local News Report, released by the Medill School of Journalism, reveals that 130 newspapers vanished in the past year alone, a rate of roughly 2.5 closures weekly, mirroring the 131 lost between 2022 and 2023. This relentless decline is stripping some communities of their last local news outlets, creating “news deserts” that leave residents without vital information on everything from city council decisions to school board updates.
Economic pressures and the digital shift are key culprits. As ad revenue evaporates—diverted to tech giants like Google and Meta—newsrooms slash staff or fold. The decline of newspapers has various adverse consequences, in particular at the local level. For example, research has linked closures of newspapers to declines in civic engagement of citizens, increases in government waste and increases in political polarization.
The Hebron Journal-Register is locally owned and operated and my guess is they are largely dependent upon money from the local community. This revenue may consist of advertising fees and public notices like county commissioner minutes, school board meetings, city council stuff, estates, businesses, etc. With a circulation of about 1500 subscription fees are probably also a big factor.
I’m not saying anything would ever happen here but imagine what it would be like if Hebron was one of those two cities a week mentioned above in the study and we were to lose our newspaper. Who’s going to produce and publish pictures of our local athletes, school events and community accomplishments? A big thanks to those who do support our community paper through paid ads helping to preserve our rural lifestyle.
Your team,
Casey and Bryce
¹https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/06/newspapers-close-decline-in-local-journalism/
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