04/10/2026
How important are local grassroots news outlets to you? How do you know what is happening in your community?
What does grassroots or local media have to do with democracy?
"According to the University of Minnesota’s Journalism Center Ecosystem Mapping Project, 97 local news outlets across the state have closed since 2018 - around a dozen per year. For every two outlets that shut down, only one new one has launched. Among the closures are papers that served their communities for over a century. When newsrooms go dark, no one covers the city council meeting. Nobody examines why the budget changed. Nobody asks hard questions of elected officials. And nobody reports crucial information in the languages their community speaks. Research consistently shows that when local news disappears, civic participation drops, government spending rises, and corruption goes unchecked."
Media & Democracy is one of our pillars at Common Cause MN. I sit on the steering committee for the newly formed True North News Alliance. One of the bills we have endorsed and are supporting deals with a payroll tax credit. Why?
😍A payroll tax credit helps address the lack of diversity in local news by:
👉Preventing layoffs that disproportionately harm BIPOC journalists.
👉Lowering financial barriers to inclusive hiring
👉Sustaining ethnic and community‑based outlets
👉Stabilizing jobs so journalism is accessible to a wider range of people
In short: you can’t build diverse newsrooms in an industry that’s constantly shrinking. Payroll tax credits give local media the financial breathing room needed to reflect the full diversity of the communities they serve.
Why does this matter?
At its core, local news is democratic infrastructure. It is how people learn what government is doing, how to participate, and how to hold power accountable. When local news weakens or disappears, democracy doesn’t erode evenly -it fails first and hardest for communities that are already marginalized.
Democracy depends on more than the right to vote, it depends on access to timely, relevant, trustworthy information that allows people to:
👉Understand what government decisions affect them
👉Know when and how to participate (vote, testify, attend meetings)
👉See themselves reflected in civic narratives
Minnesota has lost 97 local news outlets since 2018, roughly a dozen per year. For every two outlets that close, only one opens. Many of the hardest‑hit areas are: [source: startribune.com]
Minnesota has lost 97 local news outlets since 2018, roughly a dozen per year. For every two outlets that close, only one opens. Many of the hardest‑hit areas are: [startribune.com]
👉Greater Minnesota counties
👉Communities with fewer institutional civic resources
👉Places where local government already operates with limited scrutiny
When newsrooms go dark:
👉City councils meet with little to no public oversight
👉Budget decisions go unexplained
👉Policy impacts on working families, renters, tribal members, and immigrants go underreported
For many Minnesotans, local news outlets are the only consistent translators of democracy:
👉Explaining how laws affect renters, workers, or elders
👉Reporting in languages besides English
👉Covering issues mainstream outlets overlook
👉Acting as trusted messengers where institutional trust is low
When these outlets disappear, people don’t just lose news—they lose:
👉Visibility
👉Voice
👉A pathway into civic life
Bottom Line: A stronger local news ecosystem helps ensure democracy is not limited to those with time, wealth, or insider knowledge, but shared across race, geography, language, and income.
THAT is why we are very engaged in saving local grassroots ethnic media and news outlets.
