• by Ray Schultz , Yesterday

The decline of newspapers is leading to less government compliance with journalists’ public record requests, according to a study titled “Dark deserts: Newspaper decline and its relation to government noncompliance with public records laws.”  

“As U.S. newspapers continue to close at a rate of two per week and cut back public affairs coverage, fewer reporters will be asking for public records and fewer outlets will sue governments to enforce public record laws,” the authors, Brett Posner-Ferdman and David Cuillier, write in a summary in the Seattle Times. “What happens if most, or nearly all, local newspapers go dark in an Extinction-Level Event?”

It continues: "Government officials may feel emboldened to ignore public records requests, knowing that few people will litigate. Perhaps they already feel that way, which may explain the findings from this study.”

However, states with financially strong nonprofit state press associations have more transparent state governments.

“This underscores the importance of nonprofit support organizations that provide training for local journalists and advocate on their behalf in legislatures for stronger public record laws,” the study concludes.

The study’s transparency scale ranks the top states in this order: 

• Alaska — 6.57 
• Massachusetts — 6.57 
• North Dakota — 6.43
• Rhode Island — 6.43
• Maryland — 6.29
• Montana — 6.29