The closure of a local title rarely makes national news, which is part of the problem. The consequences arrive slowly and are easy to attribute to something else.
Research on newspaper closures finds measurable effects: lower turnout, fewer contested local elections and higher municipal borrowing costs. Scrutiny is cheaper than its absence.
National outlets cannot substitute. Covering a planning committee or a school board requires someone who lives nearby and returns next month.
Whatever the funding model, philanthropic, cooperative or public, the argument for supporting it is civic rather than sentimental.
