Appendix

LNIC Research Reports

Newsroom Census/Ecosystem Mapping Toolkit

By Regina Lawrence | October 2025 | Download Report (PDF)

Finken, D. A., Irwin, D., Hale, S. C., Hughes, L., Lisosky, J., Rikerd, C., Snider, L., Whitley, L., & Wilhelm, S. (2023). The decline of local news and its impact on democracy. League of Women Voters of Washington. Retrieved from: https://lwvwa.org/resources/Documents/Studies/LocalNews/Decline%2036.pdf

Green-Barber, L., Chang, A., & Garcia McKinley, E. (2024). Wyoming Local News & Information Ecosystem. Impact Architects. Retrieved from: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/612cf94ffbc47a4a3ec687af/t/
673fa7fe8783ca5ff199ba87/1732225050135/Ecosystem_Wyoming

Hazeldine, C., Thompson, E., Williams, C., & Mahone, J. (2019). Local news for whom? A news media census of North Carolina. UNC Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. Retrieved from: https://www.cislm.org/research/nc-news-information-census/

Henrichsen, J. R., Popiel, P., Chambers, E., Fil, A., Robinson-Tay, K., Waananen Jones, L., Lisosky, J., Thomas, R. J., Brannon, J., & Shors, B. (2025). From news deserts to nonprofit resilience: Assessing the health of Washington’s local news ecosystem. The Edward Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University. Retrieved from: https://news-fellowship.murrow.wsu.edu/ecosystem-report/

Lawrence, R. G. & DeVigal, A. (2025). Assessing Oregon’s local news & information ecosystem 2025. Agora Journalism Center.

Listening Post Collective. (2021). California’s Inland Empire: Information ecosystem assessment. The Listening Post Collective by Internews. Retrieved from: https://internews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/LPC_Inland_Empire_IEA-web.pdf

LOR Foundation. (2024). Special report: Montana’s media landscape. LOR Foundation. Retrieved from: https://lorfoundation.org/reports/special-report-montanas-media-landscape/

Mahone, J., Wang, Q., Napoli, P., Weber, M., & McCollough, K. (2019). Who’s producing local journalism? Assessing journalistic output across different outlet types. DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy. Retrieved from: http://dewitt.sanford.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/08/Whos-Producing-Local-Journalism_FINAL.pdf

Rosenstiel, T., Zremski, J., Lev-Tov, J., Dayanim, N., McQuaid, J., Pulwer, L. (2024). Maryland local news ecosystem study. Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Retrieved from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1g8LHk_sP2TuQ3wYKBATYJOeQF3KefwEh/view

Soular, D. A., & Bernal, D. M. (2021). Southern New Mexico news & information ecosystem assessment. New Mexico Local News Fund. Retrieved from: https://www.nmlocalnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Southern-New-Mexico-Report.pdfToff, B. (2024). Minnesota’s local news ecosystem report 2024. Minnesota Journalism Center. Retrieved from: https://newsmap.umn.edu/minnesotas-local-news-ecosystem-report-2024

About this report

This report is a collaboration between the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication and the Local News Impact Consortium (LNIC), an open-source initiative to rebuild sustainable, data-driven local news ecosystems.

Whether you’re a researcher, journalist, or funder, the LNIC invites you to join our mission. By contributing to our growth, participating in working groups, or engaging with the tools we’re building, you can help ensure local communities have access to trustworthy news and information. Learn more about the LNIC >

About the author

Having served as the Associate Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication in Portland and Research Director for the Agora Journalism Center, Regina Lawrence is currently serving as Interim Dean of the School of Journalism and Communication.

She is a nationally recognized authority on political communication, civic engagement, gender and politics, and the role of media in public discourse about politics and policy. Her two latest books are Hillary Clinton’s Race for the White House: Gender Politics and the Media on the Campaign Trail and When the Press Fails: Political Power and the News Media from Iraq to Katrina, winner of the Doris A. Graber Outstanding Book Award from the Political Communication section of the American Political Science Association. She also serves on the LNIC Steering Committee and Newsroom Census working group. Learn more about our working groups >

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