Dave Busiek spent 43 years in Iowa radio and TV newsrooms, the last 30 years as news director at KCCI-TV in Des Moines. He writes the Substack newsletter Dave Busiek on Media, where this essay first appeared.

Who’s watching city hall? Nobody—and that should scare you

If it seems like the local news you read and watch doesn’t cover the breadth of issues, and doesn’t cover them as well as they used to, you’re not imagining it.

A study released this month details a shocking decline in the number of journalists covering local news today, compared to 20 years ago.

Dave Busiek spent 43 years in Iowa radio and TV newsrooms, the last 30 years as news director at KCCI-TV in Des Moines. He writes the Substack newsletter Dave Busiek on Media, where this essay first appeared.

Another brick fell out of the wall of traditional newspaper coverage when Gannett announced it will drop Associated Press coverage next week. Gannett is the nation’s largest chain of local newspapers, including the Des Moines Register and USA Today.

You can read background in several places, like the New York Times story or directly from an Associated Press story. The goal of this column is to discuss what it all means for news consumers. It will impact not only newspaper readers, but also radio news listeners and TV news viewers across the country.