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As newspapers continue to close across the country, Illinois has been particularly hard hit. The state has lost 86% of its journalists since 2005 — the highest percentage decline in the nation, according to the Medill State of Local News report released in October. Nationally, there was a 60% drop in newspaper journalist positions during that same period.
Illinois’ disproportionately larger number of newspaper job losses is because many of its news organizations are owned by corporate chains, Tim Franklin, director of the Medill Local News Initiative at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, said at a presentation last month at the Field Foundation. Several of those corporations are all, or in part, controlled by private equity or hedge funds.
“Those ownership groups have been especially aggressive about cutting costs, especially Tribune-owned Alden Global Capital. Several other chains, including Gannett and Lee, also have hollowed out newsrooms and are duplicating news coverage across their various Illinois markets,” Franklin said.
Six newspapers in Illinois shuttered in the 12 months ending September 2024, making it No. 6 in the country for number of closures. The papers include the Arthur Graphic Clarion in Douglas and Moultrie counties; Arcola Record-Herald and Newman Independent in Douglas County; Prairie Advocate in Carroll County; Pawnee Post in Sangamon County and Panhandle Press in Christian County.
Illinois’ media losses reflect the nationwide decline of the newspaper industry. In the U.S., 127 newspapers shut down in the past 12 months as of September 2024. More than 7,000 U.S. newspaper jobs were cut between 2022 and 2023, compared to a few hundred the year before, said the report. For the third year, Medill conducted a nationwide, county-by-county study of local news outlets.
Since 2005, more than one-third of U.S. newspapers — 3,300 outlets — have closed. In that time, Illinois has lost 36% of its newspapers, or 232 outlets, and Cook County has lost 40% of its newspapers.
Illinois has also lost 54% of its newspaper workers, or about 4,600 positions, in the decade ending in 2023.
The Medill report said Illinois has five counties that are “news deserts,” which includes Clay, Edwards, Jasper, White and Alexander counties. News deserts are areas without any locally-based source of news. Forty Illinois counties now have only one news source.
Across the U.S., the number of news desert counties rose to 208 this year from 204 in 2023, according to Medill’s report. The number of counties with only one news source rose to 1,563. This means nearly 55 million people have limited or no access to local news.
In a separate report also shared last month at the Field Foundation, the Institute of Independent Journalists found that women, younger people and journalists of color were disproportionately affected by job cuts, said Katherine Reynolds Lewis, executive director of the IIJ Foundation.
Women comprised 68% of the 176 survey participants who were laid off in 2022 or later, IIJ said. However, women make up only 46% of U.S. journalists.
Journalists of color were 42% of respondents, but only represent 17% of the industry’s workforce.
Of the survey’s laid-off respondents, 58% were White; 20% were Asian; 13% Hispanic and 7% Black. By comparison, the U.S. media workforce is 76% White; 8% Hispanic; 6% Black and 3% Asian.
Those with less than three years in a job accounted for 52% of participants in IIJ’s survey, funded by the Field Foundation.
IIJ’s results give some insight into the negative impact lay-offs have on diversity in newsrooms, Lewis said. Its survey is still open to laid-off journalists until Dec. 31.
In spite of the bleak news, there are some bright spots. Illinois in May passed legislation mandating $25 million in tax credits to local news organizations over five years. Illinois and New York are the only states that have adopted tax credits to help local news outlets.
The law takes effect in 2025 and is “hugely significant and a major step in the right direction,” Franklin said.
“Is it going to fix the local news crisis in Illinois? No. But could those tax credits help preserve some local news coverage in Illinois for residents? Yes,” he said. “Could it help provide a runway to give some local news outlets time to figure out a new model? Yes. And for some smaller local news outlets, these tax credits could even be a temporary lifeline.”
Franklin said, “Chicago has emerged as an incubator of innovation for local news.” He highlighted Block Club Chicago, a digital-only outlet that provides hyperlocal news. The nonprofit has “created a diversified business model of reader revenue, advertising/sponsorships, philanthropy, events and merchandise,” Franklin said.
Other publications covering specific communities or topics include The TRiiBE, which focuses on Black Chicago, the Harvey World Herald and Cicero Independiente, which cover the south and west suburbs, respectively.
Across the U.S., there’s been a net increase of 81 stand-alone digital news sites, the biggest one-year gain in recent years, according to Medill. However, that includes 30 newspapers that converted from print to digital. Nearly 90% of online publications are in metro areas.