Last year, an NPR/Ipsos poll found that more than half of Americans believe U.S. democracy is “in crisis and at risk of failing.” Preserving and strengthening democracy is one of the toughest challenges facing our country, and local journalism can help address this challenge by reducing the spread of misinformation, increasing voter engagement and holding leaders accountable.

Many democracy funders recognize that the health of local news is closely intertwined with the health of our democracy. Local journalism catalyzes citizen action by providing daily reporting that empowers people to participate in civic life. It uncovers corruption, ensures transparency and conducts investigations that shed light on critical issues.

However, it’s no secret that social media and 24-hour cable news have broken the news industry’s traditional business model and many news outlets (especially newspapers) are struggling to survive. Data from June 2022 reveals that at least one-fifth of the U.S. population, roughly 70 million people, reside in communities without a newspaper or are at risk of losing theirs.

Because of the role journalism plays in American democracy, it is vital for funders that are focused on equity and democracy to help local journalism not only survive, but become resilient. Funders can support local journalism as one of many intersectional ways to preserve and strengthen our democracy.

Philanthropy should leverage its unique access to flexible funding and ability to take risks to fuel work that reimagines and strengthens how democracy works by funding local journalism outlets that are currently struggling. But that’s not all: Funders can support upstream efforts that promote the health of the sector in ways that buttress local news through funding to combat misinformation; and supporting platforms that make the stories journalism tells more inclusive.

Read the full article about funding local journalism by Jon Quinn and Caroline Suozzi at Poynter.