The first financial impact of COVID-19 on local news is clear: As businesses have closed, they’ve stopped advertising, prompting news organizations to lay off, furlough or cut the pay of journalists—right when the public is turning to local news more than ever.
But there is a likely secondary effect that will make things even worse: further consolidation of the newspaper industry. Distressed industries tend toward consolidation, and with newspaper balance sheets spattered with red ink, analysts like Ken Doctor are predicting more mergers.
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