From NPR, this is hidden brain.
I'm Shankar Vedantam.
Amidst the confusion and chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us have sought out a long trusted the local newspaper reporters.
Venturing out to hospitals, to remote areas, to nursing homes.
They tell us what's happening in the world, in our country, and in our own communities.
They let us track the spread of disease, the availability of ICU beds, the well being of our neighbors.
It should come as no surprise that in the past couple of months, print and online local newspaper readership has soared.
Yet at this time, when the value of local journalism is most evident, as readers are inhaling article after article, newspapers are not thriving.
They're collapsing.
Well, it is a difficult day for journalism.
In Cleveland today, the Plain Dealer newsroom went from 38 employees down to 16.
North Dakota's two largest newspapers are taking steps to trim costs.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Covid-19 vaporized.
The paper's advertising revenue is down more than 30%.
The 98 of the company's 375 employees have been furloughed or had their hours cut back.
The problem is only going to grow.
Advertising revenue, which newspapers rely on, is vanishing as businesses shudder and people practice social distancing.
For many publications, Covid-19 might be the final nail in the coffin.
For decades, the financial health of many newspapers has been precarious in good economic times and bad.
If you talk to people who don't subscribe to their local paper, you can see why the industry is in dire straits.