Report

The Community Impact of Independent Journalism: New Evidence from Five States

A report on five news organizations in the Statewide News Collective

By Danny Hayes

June 9, 2026

In 2024, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism undertook a project to measure the community impact of three independent statewide news organizations—New Hampshire Public Radio, Bridge Michigan, and Montana Free Press.  
 
The resulting research revealed that the three outlets, members of The Lenfest Institute’s Statewide News Collective (SNC), had not only established themselves as trusted sources of information within their states, but they were helping readers participate in civic life. The evidence of community impact, the Institute’s report concluded, “underscores the importance of vibrant state and local news for promoting civic and political engagement in local communities.” 

In the years since, the importance of credible local information sources has only increased. The continued changes to the media landscape—including the rapid technological advancements of artificial intelligence, the rise of independent creators as trusted information sources, and closures and consolidations among local outlets—have left communities needing trustworthy local news more than ever. 

This new report details a second and expanded round of research conducted in 2025 on the community impact of independent local news organizations. It examines nonprofit news outlets in five new states—Mountain State Spotlight (West Virginia), Spotlight PA, The Colorado Sun, The Nevada Independent, and Mississippi Today. The goal of the project was to build on the original research and enhance our understanding of the contributions that these SNC members make to the communities they serve. 

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To do so, we conducted surveys in each state that allow us to characterize the reach and familiarity with the outlets, measure how readers view their journalism, and identify their contributions to the civic life of their communities. These surveys were designed to be representative of the state populations, reaching both readers and non-readers of these sites, which facilitates comparisons that provide measures of impact. 

The findings from the research validate and update the core findings from the first round of research, confirming that independent local journalism is making substantial contributions to civic life. 

Among the key takeaways: 

• SNC outlets reach a substantial portion of consumers in each state. Between 20% and 36% of residents in each state say they get news from the SNC outlet in their state at least occasionally. Audiences are generally larger for outlets that have been in operation for longer. 

• SNC outlets have established themselves as trusted sources of information for their readers. Three-quarters or more readers view them as trustworthy sources of news, and the vast majority of readers give them high marks for addressing key issues in their states and communities. In some states, these numbers are as high or higher than other local outlets. 

• Readers of SNC outlets feel better informed, are more knowledgeable about local affairs, and are more likely to participate in their communities than non-readers. Across many measures, these differences are substantial, highlighting both the appeal of these outlets to civic-minded community members, as well as the way that the local journalism produced by these outlets contributes to community engagement. 

• In a qualitative portion of the analysis, as many as half of SNC readers said they could recall a story that had made an impact on their lives. Across all five states, they identified three types of impact: increased awareness of state and local issues, emotional engagement with the journalism, and motivation to take civic or community action. 

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