Multiple Choice, Single Answer

Read the passage and answer the question.

Despite predictions that the internet would make them obsolete, many local newspapers continue to serve a function that larger national outlets cannot easily replicate: covering town council meetings, school board decisions, and neighborhood disputes in detail. Researchers who study local journalism have found that when a newspaper closes, voter turnout in local elections often declines and government spending becomes less closely scrutinized, since fewer reporters remain to attend public meetings. Some communities have responded by supporting nonprofit newsrooms funded through donations rather than advertising, though these outlets typically operate with far smaller staffs than the newspapers they replaced and cannot always cover every local institution as thoroughly.