Government transparency falters with the loss of local news

Researchers suggest that states with fewer newspapers per capita are associated with more difficulty in obtaining public records.

Note: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia were not included in the study as they require in-state residency for public records requests.
Chart: Medill Local News InitiativeSource: Brett Posner-Ferdman & David Cuillier (2025)Created with Datawrapper