News Deserts and Fewer Watchdogs - Wallace House Center for Journalists

Tracy Jan is a senior editor for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network, where she partners with local news outlets on investigative projects.

Headlines about the state of local journalism are bleak.

More than 3,000 newspapers have folded in the last 20 years. Of those that remain, private equity firms have stripped many of their investigative firepower. The number of news deserts is growing.

The result? Less-informed voters and taxpayers, and fewer professional watchdogs reporting on city councils, school boards and state governments, scrutinizing power and uncovering malfeasance.

Those stakes have driven me to return to local journalism, where I began my career more than two decades ago covering the county courthouse and the sheriff’s department at The Oregonian. I spent the last 13 years as a national reporter and editor for The Boston Globe and The Washington Post. When ProPublica offered me the opportunity to collaborate with local news outlets on investigative stories as a senior editor for our Local Reporting Network, I saw no more urgent mission.

Since January, I have worked with reporters and editors from legacy publications like The Salt Lake Tribune and the Bangor Daily News, as well as nonprofit newcomers including MLK50 in Memphis, The Current in Savannah, Verite News in New Orleans and The Frontier in Oklahoma. We’ve examined how the nation’s only Medicaid work requirement program is failing Georgians, how criminal justice laws championed by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry are keeping people in prison longer, and how government programs meant to help low-income renters and homeowners contribute to Maine’s homelessness crisis.

Our partnership model demonstrates that the future of local news is stronger when we work together. And so is our democracy.

One of my favorite parts of the job is visiting reporters and their newsrooms to better understand their communities and the nuances of the issues they will be spending a year covering. I’ve listened to whistleblowers recount the failures of Oklahoma’s oil and gas regulators and toured oil fields to witness the resulting environmental damage. These reporting trips have made me a more effective editor, fueling questions that have helped the reporters sharpen their reporting goals and think even more ambitiously.

Visiting our partner newsrooms has also given me a fuller understanding of the new media landscape. There is promise in the startups that have sprung up to fill the holes left by shrinking or shuttered legacy papers.

Our partnership model demonstrates that the future of local news is stronger when we work together.

And so is our democracy.

This article is part of Rising to Meet the Moment, a series from the Fall 2025 issue of the Wallace House Journal, featuring reflections from Knight-Wallace alumni, Wallace House board members and the Livingston Awards community on meeting today’s challenges with focus, resilience and resolve. Read more stories from our series:

Christopher Baxter, “Unexpected hope“

Lynette Clemetson, “Stepping up with focus and resolve“

Hayes Ferguson, “Nurturing innovation, adaptability and purpose“

Stephen Henderson, “Choosing civility“

Samantha Henry, “The future of our profession: student journalism“

Tracy Jan, “News deserts and fewer watchdogs“

Margaret Low, “Game Over? Not a chance.“

Peggy Lowe, “Defunded, but not defeated“

Amy Maestas, “Building trust through community collaborations“

Kunal Majumder, “Defending the right to report“

Seema Mehta, “Why we keep reporting“

Rachel Rohr, “Swift action for the hardest hit“