Coverage Quality

By Michele McLellan

Local outlets now make up more than half of INN membership

For the first time, a majority of INN members¹ are local outlets: 51% in 2024. That milepost reflects growth that accelerated in 2020, when local outlets made up just over a third of INN members. 

Beyond the geographic scope of coverage, several other indicators help paint a fuller picture of nonprofit news’ quality of coverage in 2024, from the types of coverage organizations prioritize to their missions, age and community focus.

• Coverage priority: We have seen growth in the number of INN members that focus their coverage on current, daily news and events rather than specializing in in-depth investigative or explanatory journalism. This tracks with the growth in local outlets, which are most likely to provide more immediate coverage of their communities. More than 4 in 10 (41%) of all INN member outlets cover news and current events, compared to 2 in 10 (19%)  in 2018. Among outlets that cover local, state and regional news, 25% report providing statehouse coverage in 2024 and having at least one part-time or full-time reporter assigned to cover a statehouse.

• Primary Mission: The share of INN members covering a broad range of topics has increased to 52% last year from 39% in 2018. The share of members focusing on a single topic decreased from 21% in 2028 to 13% in 2024. Other INN members continue to focus on a narrow set of related topics, typically government policy issues. 

• Age: Growth of startups among INN membership is slowing, according to our survey. Start-ups, organizations that launched within the prior three years, made up about 15% of INN’s membership in 2024, down from the peak at 27% in 2020. Still, half of the membership is relatively young, with a median of seven years in operation. 

• Community focus: One-fifth of INN members focus primarily on serving communities of color, meaning that people of color comprise a majority of their audience and the organization spends a majority of its funding, resources, and staff time on stories for people of color. Substantial numbers also consider communities of color one of several core priorities. About one-sixth of outlets focus primarily on serving rural communities. 

• Number of stories produced: INN members publish an average of 52 stories per month, with a median of 20 stories. Outlets focused on in-depth, investigative, or analytical reporting tend to produce fewer stories than their news-of-the-day peers. 

• Primary topics covered: More than half (53%) of INN member outlets said reporting on the government is one of their organization’s five primary coverage topics, followed by environment and climate (41%). For about one-third of outlets, other major beats include arts and culture, campaigns and elections, education and equity. The prioritization has remained fairly stable since 2022, when this question was last asked.

The local difference

Local news organizations typically operate on smaller budgets and with fewer staff, compared to state, regional, national and global outlets. In 2024, local outlets had a median of four full-time equivalent (FTE) employees, compared to a median of eight FTEs for the rest of INN membership, which includes state, regional, national and global outlets. The median revenue per local outlet was just under $360,000 compared to $970,000 for the rest of the membership, a nearly three-fold difference. 

While local outlets share the same public service ethos as their regional, national, and global peers, they stand out in several meaningful ways that reflect connection to the communities they serve.

Broader, more responsive coverage

Local outlets are more likely to define their missions with general and current news coverage, responding directly to the day-to-day needs of their communities. With 75% covering a broad range of topics (vs. 29% of nonlocal outlets) and 61% focused on current events (vs. 25%), local outlets are taking a more generalist approach that prioritizes responsiveness and immediacy over specialization.

Community-centered operations with a focus on direct distribution

While local outlets are as likely as the rest of membership to focus on communities of color, they are more likely than the rest to focus on rural communities (23% vs. 16%). Local outlets also benefit from their proximity to readers, which facilitates community engagement. This is evident in their use of volunteers, with 52% reporting having volunteers in key roles — double the rate of nonlocal outlets — and the largest numbers in editorial and executive roles. While this model deepens community ties, it may present sustainability challenges over time.

Local outlets’ audience reach is more modest than the rest of the membership, both in web traffic and newsletter subscriptions. Yet, these outlets are embracing a more direct-to-reader strategy: Nearly three-quarters (74%) said they reach 90% or more of their audiences through direct channels like websites and newsletters. Meanwhile, only a third of nonlocal outlets rely heavily on distribution via their own channels as state and national outlets are increasingly building out their content redistribution networks through third-party publications.

Local outlets have a distinct revenue mix: Earned revenue makes up 25% of their income, compared with 15% for the rest of the membership, while individual giving accounts for 25%, compared with 34% for the rest.

Publication frequency and republication constraints

To maintain audience attention and grow direct traffic, local outlets publish more stories: a median of 25 stories monthly compared to a median of 16 monthly stories for the rest of INN membership. However, local outlets are far less likely to see their content republished elsewhere, with a median of just four partner publications compared to 20 among nonlocal peers. This likely reflects both the local nature of their content and the limited pool of media partners in smaller communities.

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¹ This report draws on data from 376 of the 407 news organizations that completed the INN Index survey. We excluded data from 27 public media members because of systematic differences in how they report revenue and expenses, as well as four outlets that are not primarily publishers. See more in Methodology.