A new study shows Michigan residents have limited access to credible local news outlets and platforms.
According to Northwestern University's 2025 State of Local News Report, 39 of the 83 Michigan counties are home to only one local news outlet. Two counties, Eaton and Keweenaw, have none.
Although statewide numbers have not changed since the last report was released in 2024, the data reflects a broader nationwide trend of declining newspapers, public broadcasting stations, ethnic outlets and digital news platforms.
Eric Freedman, a journalism professor at Michigan State University, said that local communities across the state suffer when they have limited access to credible news.
“There's been research showing that when nobody's watching what local governments do, local officials sometimes stray into things that are questionable or illegal,” Freedman said. “Local events, local controversies, don't engage the public. So, there's that further removal of the citizenry from the institutions."
Freedman said that among the largest concerns for communities with limited access to local news are decreased civic engagement, a lack of institutional accountability and the inability to preserve local history as it happens.
Local communities are not the only ones paying the price of declining news outlets, Freedman said. Journalists of all kinds are struggling to find jobs in the industry, and most outlets cannot afford to pay them well.
The problem is rooted in financial struggles. With the advancement of technology over the past decades, people have begun to access news on non-news platforms. The shift in viewership consequently shifted the prime advertising space from news outlets to other digital platforms.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics , the job outlook for news analysts, reporters and journalists is expected to decrease 4% by 2034.
Despite the negative trends in Northwestern's report, researchers highlighted several bright spots.
In Michigan specifically, the BLS reported that 790 individuals are employed as analysts, reporters and journalists. The state falls in the high end of the scale among other states in the U.S. for employment.
Additionally, the BLS reported Michigan journalists make a mean annual wage of about $76,330, one of the highest average rates in the country.
The survey showed Michigan has gained four digital-first news outlets since 2021.
Scott Finn, who helps run the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont, spends his time encouraging high school and college students to be active in community reporting.
He said these startups face the same financial challenges as their competitors and their existence alone will not remedy the growing crisis.
Finn explained one of the heartening trends he has observed in relation to the local news landscape is the increasing involvement of students in community news. More than that, he said, is the rise of community members with no formal journalism training who take the initiative to serve their community.
“This is going to take everyone's participation,” Finn said. “And we're going to have to do things much differently than we've done them in the past... there will always be local news."
