FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A new report shows the U.S. has lost about 75% of its local journalists over the past two decades — where does Arkansas stack up?
The 2025 Local Journalist Index, released by media data firm Muck Rack and nonprofit Rebuild Local News, measures local news coverage using “local journalist equivalents” (LJEs). This metric includes full-time, part-time, freelance and regional reporters focused on local communities.
Across the country, the average is just 8.2 LJEs per 100,000 residents, down from more than 30 per 100,000 in 2002. More than 1,000 U.S. counties now have fewer than one full-time local journalist, and two-thirds fall below the national average.
Arkansas, however, shows a stronger profile.
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Statewide, Arkansas ranks 19th nationally for local journalist coverage.
Northwest Arkansas has 18.3 LJEs per 100,000 residents in Carroll County, 16.1 in Washington County, 13.6 in Madison County and 10.4 in Benton County, all well above the national average.
Meanwhile, in the River Valley, Scott County boasts a 17.2 LJE, the rest of the area falls behind the national average, with Logan and Franklin County bringing in the rear at 0.2 LJE a piece.
The Arkansas counties with the highest LJE rate are 1) Columbia County, 2) Faulkner County, 3) Union County, 4) Hempstead County and 5) Arkansas County.
Here’s how the KNWA/FOX24 coverage area stacks up against other counties in the state:
Northwest Arkansas
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Carroll County – No. 6 in the state
River Valley
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Scott County – No. 8 in the state
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Sebastian County – No. 19
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Crawford County – No. 28
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Franklin County – No. 67
To view how each county compares nationally, as well as expanded analysis, hover or click on each county in the map above.
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National
The report states that local journalism shortages affect all types of communities, including rural areas, fast-growing suburbs and major cities like Los Angeles (California ranks 42nd nationally).
Among the 48 U.S. counties with over one million residents, fewer than one-third meet the national average for local journalism and several counties with populations over two million fall well below that average, according to the report.
Check out national data in the two maps below, broken down by state and by county.
So, how did they get those numbers?
This analysis used Muck Rack data from Jan. 1 to Mar. 31, 2025, covering over 100,000 contributors and millions of online articles, according to the report’s webpage.
Journalists were assigned to counties based on their primary publishing outlet. The study included only bylined, online-published work and excluded most print-only, broadcast-only or syndicated content.
A “Local Journalist Equivalent” (LJE) was calculated using output volume, local focus and employment type. Freelancers were weighted based on article count, and national and aggregator content was filtered out.
The final count was reduced to about 27,000 LJEs across 3,141 U.S. counties. Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News said that this method aims to reflect actual local reporting capacity, not just employment numbers.
To view the study’s complete methodology, head to Muck Rack’s website.
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