America, we have a problem.

Newspapers, especially the smaller ones that often serve as the eyes and ears for their communities, are in danger of disappearing. That’s according to the newest State of Local News report by Northwestern University.

“We're not only in danger; we have been losing local outlets,” said Penny Muse Abernathy, a visiting professor at the Chicago-area school.

She says as those papers vanish, so too have their trained watchdogs who monitor local government.

“Not only have we lost newspapers, we have lost 60% of the newspaper journalists we had in 2005. So, 60% — that leaves 40,000 newspaper journalists that we had in 2005 that are not there now,” said Abernathy.

For communities across the United States, the problem has created news deserts.

“We have areas where people have an abundance of local news. Typically, that's around affluent areas and in metro areas. And then we have areas where people have to really, really look to find the local news and information and data that they need. And invariably those are the communities that need it the most,” said Abernathy. “They are low income, and they are traditionally underserved in marginalized communities, often with large ethnic populations that have not been served in the past well by mainstream media.”  

A map developed by Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism shows areas served by two or more papers in dark blue, one newspaper in light blue, and no newspaper in white.

“You lose a local newspaper, and you lose the person who shows up at the school board meeting, you lose the reporter who shows up at the zoning meeting or the county commissioner meeting,” said Abernathy.

Memphis, Tennessee, is 64% Black, 27% white. There, in the home of the blues, veteran journalist Wendi Thomas runs the online nonprofit news source MLK50: Justice Through Journalism.

“It can be hard to grow to the capacity you would want to be when you're relying on grants and foundations and the $10 check your mom can write every month,” said Thomas.  

Thomas started MLK50 six years ago; now she and her staff of six full-time journalists make sure the community has a voice.

“I saw a void in news coverage that wasn't being filled here in Memphis. And it was kind of one of those things where, like, 'OK, who better to do it than me?'” said Thomas.  

MLK 50 covers a range of topics. But its most important task is making sure those abandoned by profit-focused media are heard.

“We launched a newsroom focused on poverty, power and policy, which isn't something that traditional legacy newsrooms typically cover. But I knew we wanted to focus on marginalized people here in Memphis, the people who often aren't the subject of news coverage,” said Thomas.

During her 30-year-career, Thomas worked at mom-and-pop newspapers and at conglomerates.

“Rural communities have been hit hardest by the death of newspapers across the country,” said Thomas.

With advertising flowing to online and social media platforms, many small papers closed.

“That means that in a lot of these places, there is no one whose job it is to pay attention to how tax dollars are being spent, to what the county commission is doing, to what's happening at the jails. And in the absence of that sunlight from the media, all kinds of shady things happen in the dark,” said Thomas.

Online news organizations have popped up around the country that rely on private funding, such as foundation grants — outlets like the Texas Tribune and Block Club Chicago — but that model is tougher outside metro areas.

Abernathy says one solution might be using public dollars to help newspapers and local online media operate.

“Western democracies in Europe and in Asia have figured out how to do that very successfully. And in fact, if you look back, there has been a postal subsidy for most newspapers since the very beginning of this country,” said Abernathy.

This story was originally published by Tammy Estwick, Alex Livingston, Lindsay Tuchman, Tammy Estwick, Stephanie Sandoval on ScrippsNews.com.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to deliver his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday.

The speech will be broadcasted, like usual, at 9 p.m. ET, followed by the Republican response by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

But does this annual tradition of addressing Congress still have the same impact that it used to?

A TRADITION

It's the phrase that kicks off the night: "Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States."

It is said traditionally by the sergeant of arms before the president walks into the House chamber.

The annual, prime-time speech doesn't actually have to happen, however.

While President George Washington delivered one in person — and so did President John Adams — President Thomas Jefferson stopped it.

Jefferson believed it felt too much like the King of England speaking to parliament. From 1801 until 1913 presidents delivered written annual reports to Congress instead in order to fulfill their constitutional obligations.

President Woodrow Wilson brought back the practice in 1913 and with the invention of the radio and television, the in-person tradition has happened in most years since then. When Biden speaks Tuesday, it will likely be his most-watched speech of the year.

Over 38 million watched last year's address, which is a chance for Biden to highlight past accomplishments, like legislation to boost computer chips. It's also a chance to express optimism for the year ahead.

Biden is expected to express that sentiment with the economy and with Ukraine's fight against Russia. It's also a chance for the president to demand bipartisanship from Congress, and he is expected to do so when it comes to the issue of the debt limit.

The United States could default for the first time this summer if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling. The State of the Union is typically the only time each year that every Republican member of Congress and every Democratic member of Congress is in the same room listening to a presidential speech.

Sometimes it can feel long. The longest ever was President Bill Clinton's in 2000. Clinton went 1 hour and 28 minutes.

The shortest address in modern times was President Richard Nixon's in 1972. Mr. Nixon spoke for just 28 minutes.

Biden's speech last year was 1 hour and 1 minute. There are critics though who say this speech isn't as influential as it used to be. Viewership has declined in recent years compared to the 1990s, and policy proposals have too.

According to data compiled by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, from 1965 to 2015, on average only 39.4% of all policy proposals contained in a State of the Union address were approved by Congress that same year.

That means, statistically, most things Biden mentions and wants Congress to accomplish won't actually happen this year.

Not every important political figure will be in the House chamber on Tuesday night. In most years since the Cold War, one member of the president's cabinet has been designated the "designated survivor."

They are kept in a secure location and away from the Capitol to ensure the continuity of government in the event of a mass casualty event.

Senator John Fetterman’s candid approach to his struggles with mental health is unusual on Capitol Hill, where issues with members’ health are frequently kept hidden from the public.

But Fetterman’s openness has led to praise from mental health advocates, fellow members of Congress, and President Joe Biden, who said in a tweet, "We’re grateful to you for leading by example." 

Such mental health struggles in politics are not new — but they’re not mentioned often.  

In 1972, U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton was forced to bow out as the vice presidential pick for Democratic nominee George McGovern after his mental health struggles became public.

And in 2007, then-Congressman Patrick Kennedy opened up on Larry King live about his struggles with mental health.   

After a late-night car crash on Capitol Hill, the Rhode Island Democrat pled guilty in 2006 to charges of driving under the influence of prescription drugs.  

Since departing Congress, he founded the Kennedy Forum, which he describes as a think tank focused on mental health and addiction policy. 

"I think Senator Fetterman, simply by checking himself in saying he needs help and going to get that help, is going to probably help more people in that single act than any other bill that he sponsors or acts that he passes in Congress this year for sure," Kennedy said last week. "When I did go to treatment, I went under the cover of darkness, I did not do what Senator Fetterman has done, and that is to be very public about going to treatment. When I did go publicly, it was because I was forced to go publicly, I had had a DWI."

Fetterman suffered a stroke during his Senate campaign last year. His office said he has experienced depression on and off throughout his life but it became more severe recently.   

Mental health experts say his transparency about his struggles is an important signal to those dealing with similar issues. They say depression following a stroke isn’t unusual. 

 "We know that up to a third of people who have a stroke will suffer depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in people who have had a stroke. So I think for him to be so public about it is so courageous and he's been courageous up until this point, and he continues to do so," said Dr. Daniel Bober, a psychiatrist. 

WASHINGTON — From a possible TikTok ban being proposed in Congress to an increase in the United States military presence in the Pacific, it's no secret that relations between the United States and China are relatively tense right now.

In fact, the relationship with China is shaping policy around the world.

Just this week a new submarine agreement with the United Kingdom and Australia was announced, in part, to compete with China.

However, many Chinese Americans fear the tense relationship could result in an increase in hate crimes or discrimination.

CHINESE AMERICAN HISTORY

Because of all the recent stories — and tension with Beijing — it is worth a visit to the Chinese American museum in Washington, D.C., to speak with David Uy, the executive director.

"People often ask, what does a Chinese-American look like — I am one of them — I am half Chinese, and I am half Italian," Uy said.

What's important during this time is that all Americans know that just because politics with Beijing is tense, it doesn't give anyone an excuse to be rude — or hateful — to their neighbors, he urged.

"You may have issues with a country but those people in the U.S. are as American as you," Uy said.

"We don't want spy balloons drifting over the country," Uy added.

Unfortunately hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise.

Newly updated data from the FBI shows that in 2021 there were over 700 anti-Asian incidents nationwide. Uy's museum has felt it first-hand.

"We've had a rock thrown threw our window, and we have had hate speech left at one of our exhibits," he said.

Part of Uy's goal is to educate Americans more on Chinese-American history in the U.S.

For instance, the transcontinental railroad was largely built by Chinese laborers.

"Ten miles of rail track was laid in a single day," Uy said. One fear he has, is a return to the past.

From the 1880s to the 1960s, the United States Congress significantly restricted — and for many years, banned — Chinese citizens from migrating to the United States.

The Chinese Exclusion Act remains one of the most restrictive immigration laws ever passed by Congress.

"They were not always the most welcomed of immigrants," Uy said.

All of this is worth keeping in mind as the political rivalry between the United States and China intensifies.

Any political expert will tell you, it's a rivalry that won't be going away soon.