The latest research from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism paints a stark picture of where local news is headed — and what might be needed to save it. The State of Local News 2025 report, based on a survey of more than 1,000 residents in the Chicago area, shows that smartphones have now overtaken television as the primary source for local news, content creators are eclipsing newspapers, and only 15% of respondents say they’re willing to pay for local coverage.
For Tim Franklin, Medill’s senior associate dean and director of the Local News Initiative, the findings mark a turning point. “Local TV is now facing the same kind of disruption — maybe even a bigger disruption — than newspapers faced 10 or 15 years ago,” he said. “It’s happening fast — like the backstretch of the Indy 500 fast.”
Franklin believes that the acceleration of cord-cutting is fueling the change, including the shift to on-demand viewing and the growing consolidation among television owners. “There’s no tradition of paying for local TV news,” he added. “People pay through their cable bills, but not directly. Newspapers, in that sense, were better positioned — they were used to asking people to pay for news.”
Mobile-first audiences change everything
Stephanie Edgerly, professor and associate dean of research at Medill, says the study highlights a reality most publishers have seen coming for years: younger audiences now live almost entirely inside their phones. “Mobile devices go with you throughout your day,” she said. “You can access all the content you could ever want — news as well as entertainment — when you’re on the train, waiting in line, or eating lunch.”
But the key distinction, Edgerly noted, is generational. “Younger people have grown up in a world with mobile devices. They weren’t socialized into a world first of print and then of television,” she said. “By the age of 14, around 90% of teenagers have access to a mobile device. So you’re really having that strong connection with this way of getting information — and not other ways.”
That means simply repackaging print or broadcast content for the web isn’t enough. “You can’t just put your newspaper story online and say, ‘Here, I’ve met you where you are,’” Edgerly said. “You have to prioritize mobile-ready — and in many cases mobile-first — content that looks and feels right for the device.”
Content creators are now the competition
Perhaps the most surprising finding in Medill’s study is that one-third of respondents reported receiving daily local news from content creators — individuals who post news and commentary on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Substack. In fact, more people in the survey reported consuming local news from content creators than from traditional newspapers or radio.
“To me, this was one of the most surprising findings,” Franklin said. “It’s now not only possible for individuals to create larger audiences than legacy news organizations — it’s actually happened in many cases.”
He attributes the shift to how audiences prefer their storytelling. “Especially with younger consumers, they’re used to video, not text,” he said. “And many content creators are producing short-form video clips. It’s a more conversational, authentic mode of storytelling. Legacy news organizations can learn a lot from that.”
Franklin said this doesn't mean professional journalism is being replaced, but rather it’s being challenged to evolve. “This is a trend that's only going to increase,” he said, “and it holds real lessons for legacy outlets.”
The decline of youth engagement
Another sobering statistic from Medill’s data: only 32% of adults aged 18 to 29 consume local news daily, down from 39% the previous year. While that’s a single-year drop, Edgerly says it’s part of a longer-term pattern of generational disengagement.
“The social scientist in me doesn’t want to be too alarmist with two data points,” she said, “but there is some evidence that this current generation of young people is more disengaged than those of yesteryear — and that is alarming.”
Her prescription: start earlier. “Newsrooms face an uphill battle trying to engage young people when they’re already 18, 24 or 28,” she said. “A lot of these behaviors are already well-seated. You have to start younger — in middle schools and high schools — when people are forming a relationship with news.”
Franklin agreed that engagement habits are formed long before adulthood. “We’ve got to find ways to make local news relevant to people’s everyday lives,” he said. “That means rethinking how we tell stories and where we show up.”
Only 15% willing to pay
Of all the findings, the one that troubled both Franklin and Edgerly the most was the public’s declining willingness to pay for local news. Just 15% of survey respondents said they would pay for local coverage — down from 19% in last year's Medill survey.
“That was one of the most troubling numbers I saw,” Franklin admitted. “But we also don’t really have mass media anymore. The goal for a lot of news organizations now is to have a smaller, dedicated, loyal audience that's willing to pay — people who make you part of their daily lives.”
Franklin pointed to successful models like The Baltimore Banner and The Daily Memphian, as well as smaller startups like The Johnson County Post in Kansas. “It doesn’t mean paywalls don’t work,” he said. “They just aren’t for everyone. Publishers need to know their audience and build a relationship, not just a transaction.”
AI in the newsroom
Artificial intelligence was another hot topic in the survey, with roughly half of respondents saying they were uncomfortable with AI-generated news. Edgerly believes the key for newsrooms is transparency, not avoidance.
“It’s not ‘don’t use it,’ but ‘how are you using it?’” she said. “Most people don’t understand the work of journalists, so when you’re using AI, they don’t really understand what that means. You have to be clear that AI cannot do the work of a journalist — it can’t be the eyes and ears in a community — but it can help with parts of the production process.”
Franklin added that while AI can increase efficiency, it must be guided by human judgment and discretion. “AI can help you operate more efficiently in many ways,” he said, “but it's also a time to find new ways of storytelling as you try to reach sustainability.”
A roadmap for transformation
Asked what he would tell publishers reading this report, Franklin didn’t hesitate. “This is a transformational moment for local news, and we need to respond to it,” he said. “It’s time to experiment on different platforms, learn from content creators, and bring audiences into the fold as partners, not just customers.”
Edgerly offered a complementary message. “Building that connection starts early,” she said. “How can you be visible in classrooms and communities so people understand what local news is? A lot of news consumption involves habit formation. Start early, and build that value among young people in a world where they have a lot of other options.”
The Medill Survey 2025: How the Chicago Area Gets Its News may focus on one metropolitan region, but both researchers agree its lessons extend far beyond the Midwest. “It’s a microcosm of the country,” Franklin said. “And for every newsroom in America, the challenge is the same: adapt, evolve, and reconnect — before it’s too late.”
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