Strong, independent local journalism is crucial to healthy communities, ensuring that they remain engaged and informed. Local news increases civic participation, holds local governments and public officials accountable, elevates community concerns, and much more.

Despite their importance, over 2,100 newspapers have closed since 2004, with this trend showing no sign of stopping. Nearly 70% of counties across the United States no longer have a daily newspaper. The increasing number of news deserts—communities with limited access to credible and comprehensive news that feeds democracy at the grassroots level—has become a crisis. While many communities have seen their local newspaper disappear, others have experienced a reduction of the quality and quantity of reporting across all news media channels as an increasing number of local news outlets have been acquired by investment entities, replacing local ownership.

The Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund was established in 2020 to help support, protect, and expand local journalism in and for Lancaster County by promoting investigative and public interest journalism and media literacy. While so many communities across the United States have lost their daily newspapers and have seen a diminishment of journalistic outlets, our community is fortunate to have a strong presence of quality local journalism, including a 228-year-old daily newspaper, LNP|LancasterOnline. We believe that the community asset of local journalism must be preserved. The efforts of the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund will ensure the people of Lancaster County continue to be informed, engaged, and empowered by independent local journalism for years to come.

Board of Managers

The Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund is managed by the following Board of Managers who all have ties to Lancaster County:

Steve Falk

CEO, Sonoma Media Investments, LLC

Colby Itkowitz

National Politics Reporter, The Washington Post

Dr. Judith Wubah

First Lady, Millersville University