According to a recent study by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, a quarter of the country’s newspapers have shuttered since 2005. And in less than two years, they are predicting that total will creep up to a third. They’re calling it a “crisis for our democracy,” where news deserts are growing and leaving communities with limited access to critical news and information needed to make decisions in their daily lives.

On this episode of “The Eagle,” former Buffalo News editor, public editor of The New York Times and media columnist for The Washington Post Margaret Sullivan heads up a panel on the fate of local journalism and the future of democracy, featuring Judy Patrick of the New York Press Association, Capital Region Independent Media publisher Mark Vinciguerra, NewsGuild president John Schleuss, and our own Times Union editor in chief Casey Seiler.

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