A lot of quality small local newspapers doing an amazing job are financially struggling. It’s very sad.

Sadly not as many as you’d think. The overwhelming majority of local newspapers were owned by a handful of national companies. The three biggest are Reach (owner of the Mirror and the Express, amongst others), Newsquest and National World, who between them own 65% of all local papers. Another 15% are owned by the next two biggest companies (Trindle and Archant). Only 20% of local papers are owned by smaller companies, and most of those aren’t independent, they’re just smaller companies than the big 5.

Anyone lucky enough to still have a genuine independent local paper with at least passable quality should cherish the fuck out of it.