The State of Maine Democracy

CHAPTER NINE NEWSPAPERS AND MEDIA ACCESS KEY METRICS Indicator #1 | Number of Newspapers About one in five newspapers closed over the last 15 years in Maine, and this rate of decline was higher than that in Vermont or West Virginia, two other largely rural states.

The Biddeford Journal Tribune closed in 2019, leaving Maine’s sixth largest city without daily news coverage.

Indicator #2 | Newspaper Circulation Print newspaper circulations declined by almost 40% over the last 15 years in Maine, which is comparable to declines seen in other rural states like Vermont and West Virginia Indicator #3 | Number of Independent Local Bylines Local bylines (written and filed by Maine-based reporters) declined by over 50% over the last 20 years — from 134 to 64. Independent local bylines (those not shared across several newspapers) fell by two-thirds — from 122 to 42.

Indicator #4 | Concentration of Ownership of Print and Broadcast Media Similar to other states, Maine has seen increasing concentration of ownership of local newspapers, with the largest two Maine-based publishers owning three-fifths of all newspapers. Unlike other states, ownership of radio and television stations is well diversified.

Indicator #5 | News Deserts in Maine According to a study done at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, Maine has five counties that classify as news deserts (counties with 0-1 local newspaper): Somerset (0); Franklin (1); Piscataquis (1); Waldo (1), and Sagadahoc (1). This is one more than last year as Sagadahoc County was recently added to the list. Altogether, nearly 175,000 Mainers, or 13% of our population, live in counties designated as news deserts.

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