Almost half of American voters were deeply disappointed on the night of Nov. 5, 2024. Voting totals gleaned from thousands of polling places across the country told a story of numbers. For over eight years, Americans have formed their views on the best leadership for the nation. They do so based on bite-sized snippets from major national press. These views are also shaped by opinions voiced by Fox News and MSNBC. Other tech platforms like TikTok “influencers” also compete for listener loyalty. On offer: ‘we’ll tell you the news you want to hear’.

We need to regain the habit of digesting local news. We should dissect fact from fiction. We must talk about it among neighbors and fellow citizens. We’ve lost that consensus building “muscle” Thomas Paine and early colonists had. Talk, argue, decide the facts, understand points of agreement, make decisions based on knowledge and an understanding of common goals.

Local news is, unfortunately, nearly dead. This loss affects coverage of controversial political issues happening down the street or in city hall. As a result, Americans rely on a handful of national news outlets. These outlets have their own biases and are not responsive to local interests. They also face a multitude of digital outlets earning money based on user clicks, often with spurious sources.

Since 2005 more than 3200 locally based print newspapers have vanished in America. Gannett news has bought them out to create local papers with little or no real local news reporting. As a result, most Americans don’t have reliable local news sources. As a consequence, Americans are rapidly losing that “civic muscle.” Since the time of Thomas Paine and the colonists, it allowed us to get information and form opinions. We discussed information among ourselves and fought over issues. We determined what we each care about. We recognized that there are new issues, by the dozens, every year to be decided. These issues, school board elections, zoning, book banning, a park cleanup, new water mains, etc., that will reshape the lives of people in every community in America. We don’t hear about them because we’ve lost our local news sources. So we can’t debate issues, building that “civic engagement muscle.” We’re losing the ability to detect truth from fiction, wisdom from bravado, quality of character from quantity of noise.

Thomas Paine where are you?!

America was founded through the prolific pamphleteering of Thomas Paine and others. They stirred the pot of ideas for discussion in local bars, meeting houses, around a neighbor’s table. Those conversations helped birth a young nation with clear ideas about what its people wanted from their government. Many local newspapers have died. As a result, we’ve lost the information we need. We struggle to talk with each other about community decisions and governance. Local “letters to the editor” are a thing of the past.

Today, across America, we have good news. There is an explosive growth of a replacement for the dying daily paper. This is happening particularly in the Northeast. The replacement is digital local news sources. These local sources, often nonprofits, provide real local information to engage citizens in discussions. Content includes news, features, opinions, videos, audio clips, and interactive graphics. They have hyperlinks to related stories and sources. Most importantly, they offer opportunities for reader comments and discussions to help rebuild our civic decision-making muscles.

We can agree or disagree. As Thomas Paine and his colleagues found, the most productive discussions are carried out locally. These discussions involve shared information in conversations with neighbors. We explore concerns and gain new insights. Collaborative decisions are made to build a better community.

It is just these local news sources and conversations we need now to truly make America great again. Four more years. Let’s start learning how to make decisions collaboratively now. Support local digital news efforts in your community.

Find out more through the organizations listed here:

• Knight Foundation
• American Journalism Project
• Press Forward
• MacArthur Foundation
• Arnold Ventures
• Institute of Nonprofit News (INN)
• LION publishers
• National Trust for Local News
• GNI- Google News Initiative
• News Revenue Hub
• Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting

To quote Historian Heather Cox Richardson re: Tuesday’s vote:

“But my own conclusion is that both of those things were amplified by the flood of disinformation that has plagued the U.S. for years now. Russian political theorists called the construction of a virtual political reality through modern media “political technology.” They developed several techniques in this approach to politics, but the key was creating a false narrative in order to control public debate. These techniques perverted democracy, turning it from the concept of voters choosing their leaders into the concept of voters rubber-stamping the leaders they had been manipulated into backing. 

In the U.S., pervasive right-wing media, from the Fox News Channel through right-wing podcasts and YouTube channels run by influencers, have permitted Trump and right-wing influencers to portray the booming economy as “failing” and to run away from the hugely unpopular Project 2025. They allowed MAGA Republicans to portray a dramatically falling crime rate as a crime wave and immigration as an invasion. They also shielded its audience from the many statements of Trump’s former staff that he is unfit for office, and even that his chief of staff General John Kelly considers him a fascist and noted that he admires German Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

As actor Walter Masterson posted: “I tried to educate people about tariffs, I tried to explain that undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes and are the foundation of this country. I explained Project 2025, I interviewed to show that they supported it. I can not compete against the propaganda machines of Twitter, Fox News, [Joe Rogan Experience], and NY Post. These spaces will continue to create reality unless we create a more effective way of reaching people.” 

“X users noted a dramatic drop in their followers today, likely as bots, no longer necessary, disengaged.”