Can Students Save the News?

When Aly Hertzog signed up for a journalism class at the University of Georgia, she never imagined she’d soon be taking over a newspaper.

But then the editor and publisher of The Oglethorpe Echo, a local weekly paper, retired in 2021, and there was no one to take his place. Rather than let the paper shut down, like so many other community news outlets have in recent decades, local journalists and school officials concocted a plan for a University of Georgia class to step in. Every semester, 20 students would write articles, take photos, and manage the paper’s website and social media.

“I thought it was going to be the most stressful, worst class of my entire semester,” Hertzog, 23, admitted while taking the class last year. “And it’s actually my favorite. I’ve loved every second of it.”

If you, like many young Americans, get most of your news from social media, you might wonder why keeping a local paper alive is important. Although you may hear about national issues on Instagram and TikTok, those platforms likely won’t reveal much about what’s happening in your town—the kinds of stories that often have the biggest impact on you and your family. Decisions made locally can affect everything from what you learn at your school to the conditions of the roads you drive on, explains Erica Beshears Perel, director of the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media at the University of North Carolina.

“The things that affect your day-to-day life,” she says, “are happening on the local level.”

Aly Hertzog signed up for a journalism class at the University of Georgia.

But she never imagined she’d soon be taking over a newspaper.

In 2021, the editor and publisher of The Oglethorpe Echo, a local weekly paper, retired. There was no one to take his place. Many community news outlets have shut down in recent years. Rather than let that happen to the Echo, local journalists and school officials came up with a plan for a University of Georgia class to step in. Every semester, 20 students would write articles and take photos. They would also manage the paper’s website and social media.

“I thought it was going to be the most stressful, worst class of my entire semester,” Hertzog, 23, admitted while taking the class last year. “And it’s actually my favorite. I’ve loved every second of it.”

If you, like many young Americans, get most of your news from social media, you might wonder why keeping a local paper alive is important. You may hear about national issues on Instagram and TikTok, those platforms likely won’t reveal much about what’s happening in your town. But those  kinds of stories often have the biggest impact on you and your family. Decisions made locally can affect everything from what you learn at your school to the conditions of the roads you drive on, explains Erica Beshears Perel, director of the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media at the University of North Carolina.

“The things that affect your day-to-day life,” she says, “are happening on the local level.”

For decades, local newspapers thrived on revenue from print subscribers and advertising. But with the advent of free news on the internet, many Americans dropped their print subscriptions, and advertisers shifted to online ads. Plus, as national news sources exploded online, people started paying less attention to hometown publications. Many local outlets have had to cut back coverage, lay off employees, or close down. There were 1,745 daily newspapers in the U.S. in 1980, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2022, a report by Northwestern University found that number had slid to 1,230. (Sometimes publications are replaced by online outlets, but not always.)

Experts worry about this trend: Without quality local sources—such as newspapers, websites, TV news, and radio stations—keeping an eye on things, the people in charge are less likely to be held accountable for their actions.

“When governments and powerful people meet in secret, or when the work that they’re doing isn’t out in the light of day, it’s easy for folks to cut corners,” Perel says. But when there’s a spotlight on what’s going on, it makes a difference: “They don’t want to see on the front page of the newspaper that they did something dishonest or shady.”

For decades, local newspapers thrived on revenue from print subscribers and advertising. But with the advent of free news on the internet, many Americans dropped their print subscriptions. Advertisers shifted to online ads. And as national news sources exploded online, people started paying less attention to hometown publications. Many local outlets have had to cut back coverage. Some had to lay off employees or close down. There were 1,745 daily newspapers in the U.S. in 1980, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2022, a report by Northwestern University found that number had slid to 1,230. Sometimes publications are replaced by online outlets, but not always.

Experts worry about this trend. Newspapers, websites, TV news, and radio stations are needed to keep an eye on things in a community. Without those quality local sources, the people in charge are less likely to be held accountable for their actions.

“When governments and powerful people meet in secret, or when the work that they’re doing isn’t out in the light of day, it’s easy for folks to cut corners,” Perel says. But when there’s a spotlight on what’s going on, it makes a difference: “They don’t want to see on the front page of the newspaper that they did something dishonest or shady.”

There’s also evidence that a lack of local news can harm democratic institutions and civic engagement. One 2019 study published in Urban Affairs Review, for example, looked at 11 California newspapers and two decades of local elections. The researchers discovered that when cities have fewer reporters, fewer people run for mayor and voter turnout decreases, evidence that if the community isn’t well-informed, residents are less likely to participate in the political process. And as people instead turn to national coverage that’s increasingly partisan, experts say, misinformation and conspiracy theories are more likely to spread.

There’s also evidence that a lack of local news can harm democratic institutions and civic engagement. One 2019 study published in Urban Affairs Review, for example, looked at 11 California newspapers and two decades of local elections. The researchers discovered that when cities have fewer reporters, fewer people run for mayor and voter turnout decreases. That’s  evidence that if the community isn’t well-informed, residents are less likely to participate in the political process. And experts say, misinformation and conspiracy theories are more likely to spread. That’s because people are turning instead to national coverage that’s increasingly partisan.

The students running The Oglethorpe Echo have seen the power of local news firsthand. Hertzog recalls when they discovered that lawmakers were quietly raising the trash tax, or when they learned that the county hadn’t received broadband funding. Without the paper, residents likely wouldn’t have known, she notes.

Not all local news focuses on holding officials accountable, however. Sometimes articles highlight fun and interesting things too. Armani Kardar, now 24, who covered sports for the Echo, said he found joy in interacting with the community, whether he was reporting on an 8-year-old basketball star or a hunting test for cocker spaniels.

“The people I interview are always so thankful,” he said last year, adding that the stories were especially meaningful when readers recognize their neighbors and friends who are featured.

Young people are stepping in to help in other places too. Journalism students at the University of Kansas, for example, recently revived a newspaper in a small community that hadn’t had coverage since 2009. And in some places, a college or high school publication might be the only source of local updates, with reporters covering events and city council meetings. Many of these young journalists bring a fresh perspective to traditional news, pushing for coverage of communities that have historically been left out of the media.

Some experts worry about the ethics of asking unpaid students to fill in for professional reporters to save money. At the Echo, though, students are quick to point out the benefits.

“I think this is one of the greatest ideas ever,” Kardar said. “The amount of development I’ve had as an individual and as a reporter and a writer is so insane. . . . I genuinely do feel like we’re making a difference.”

The students running The Oglethorpe Echo have seen the power of local news firsthand. Hertzog recalls when they discovered that lawmakers were quietly raising the trash tax. Or when they learned that the county hadn’t received broadband funding. Without the paper, residents likely wouldn’t have known, she notes.

But not all local news focuses on holding officials accountable. Sometimes articles highlight fun and interesting things. Armani Kardar, now 24, who covered sports for the Echo, reported on an 8-year-old basketball star and a hunting test for cocker spaniels. In all those stories, he found joy in interacting with the community.

“The people I interview are always so thankful,” he said last year. He added that the stories were especially meaningful when readers recognize their neighbors and friends who are featured.

Young people are stepping in to help in other places too. Journalism students at the University of Kansas, for example, recently revived a newspaper in a small community that hadn’t had coverage since 2009. And in some places, a college or high school publication might be the only source of local updates. In those towns, student reporters cover events and city council meetings. Many of these young journalists bring a fresh perspective to traditional news. And they push for coverage of communities that have historically been left out of the media.

Some experts worry about the ethics of unpaid students filling in for professional reporters to save money. At the Echo, though, students are quick to point out the benefits.

“I think this is one of the greatest ideas ever,” Kardar said. “The amount of development I’ve had as an individual and as a reporter and a writer is so insane. . . . I genuinely do feel like we’re making a difference.”