Op-Ed: The End of Local News

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Why the Sinclair Scripps Takeover Matters

Op-Ed by Mitch Goldstone, CEO, ScanMyPhotos.comIf Sinclair acquires The E.W. Scripps Company (Scripps News), the country could lose one of its last remaining sources of genuine local journalism.

I am writing this because I have spent decades watching how local journalism protects communities. I have seen what happens when those local voices disappear. And I know how hard it is to get them back once they are gone.

When Local News Stops Being Local

There comes a moment when a community looks at its television screen and realizes that the news no longer feels like home. The anchors may sound familiar, but their words seem distant. Stories that once felt known now carry an unfamiliar tone. Although the coverage technically comes from down the street, the influence shaping it feels much farther away. This is why the prospect of Sinclair acquiring Scripps should alarm anyone who relies on local news for truth, accountability, and connection. This is not just another routine media merger; it represents a fundamental shift in how communities understand themselves.

Scripps confirms receipt of unsolicited proposal from Sinclair, Inc.

For me, this is personal. I have spent my life watching how local journalism stitches neighborhoods together. They show up at the local city council meeting. They keep public officials honest. It helps families make sense of crises. It reaches into the everyday details that national newsrooms never see. When local news is strong, people feel rooted. When it weakens, the cracks spread everywhere. I have also seen what happens when a powerful corporation takes control over the stories people hear. Local reporters lose the room to push back. Editorial decisions drift from the newsroom to a corporate office. Commentary written elsewhere gets delivered by anchors who never wrote a word of it. Viewers sense something has changed even if they cannot name it.

This is the pattern Sinclair has followed across markets. More centrally produced segments. More shared scripts. Fewer local reporters. Less independence. More national messaging dressed as local storytelling. From reports, Sinclair already owns nearly 10 % of Scripps’ Class A common stock.

Scripps News is one of the few large companies still dedicated to true localism. Their stations actively participate in school board meetings, water hearings, zoning disputes, neighborhood councils, and city hall discussions. They focus on the smaller, less glamorous stories that national producers often overlook. They prioritize listening to the community. If Sinclair takes over, the country will not just lose a company; it will lose hundreds of unique local voices that play a vital role in our democratic life. While the broadcasts may still appear local and the logos may remain unchanged, the essence of those stations will change. Once that happens, it is unlikely to revert back.

Consolidation in local news is not abstract. It affects how people vote, how they think, and whom they trust. It determines which issues receive daylight and which ones disappear. It shapes whether a community sees a problem in time to fix it or only after the damage has spread. No newsroom is perfect, and Scripps is no exception. But they still believe in journalism rooted in place. They still believe in reporters who live where they report. They still believe that news should reflect the people who rely on it.

If this merger proceeds, that ecosystem will shrink. And the country will inch closer to a landscape where one company’s priorities influence too many screens, too many voices, too many truths.

We deserve better. Viewers deserve newsrooms that listen as closely as they report. Reporters should have the freedom to pursue the truth without needing approval from executives in another state. Communities deserve broadcasts that accurately reflect their realities, rather than corporate messages designed for many unrelated cities.

Local news is not just another business category. It is civic infrastructure. It is one of the few remaining institutions built to watch powerful interests, elevate everyday concerns, and keep the public informed with genuine, place-based reporting.

If one company controls that much of the landscape, the stories told on air will no longer belong to the communities watching them. And that loss should concern every one of us.

Once local news stops being local, the truth becomes harder to hear.

NOTE: Scripps has been doing real journalism for a long time. They started back in 1878, and their whole mission is built around one line they’ve used for decades: “Give light and the people will find their own way.” That’s not just a slogan. It’s their whole vibe. They say their job is to help communities stay informed, stronger, and smarter. And they’ve backed that up by putting serious money into their newsrooms, hiring more people, and expanding coverage across their stations. Everything about how they talk about themselves points to one thing: keeping the public informed is the point, not a side project.

ScanMyPhotos.com, where Mitch Goldstone has served as CEO since 1990, specializes in digitizing analog family photographs to help communities preserve their shared history.