I thank you for the reply and I don't dispute the deterioration of of local journalism and its negative effects. I thank you for the links and I will read them.

I thank you for the reply and I don't dispute the deterioration of of local journalism and its negative effects. I thank you for the links and I will read them. (Some of this research I am familiar with is pretty iffy, the civic engagement -> local journalism link feels very compelling but the actual research is pretty thin, but it is a very hard area to study!) I do dispute the notion expressed by the parent to my reply that there "used to be a thing called "investigative journalism", largely snuffed out now" which I stand by my position is a baffling statement. You can look at the homepage of ProPublica every day and read things that would never have any hope of seeing the light of day 15 or more years ago and are important stories. And I really do think the fact remains that the ethical standards of the "days of yore" were garbage, modern reporters would break the shit out of news that the good ole boys would let go from the 50's all the way well into the 80's.