Diocesan Newspaper Closures Reflect Evolving Catholic Media Role

Earlier this month, the Peoria Diocese in Illinois announced it had closed its diocesan newspaper, to be replaced with eventual "new strategies in a wider communications plan," according to its bishop. ...The number of Catholic newspapers in the U.S. dropped from 196 in 2006 to 118 in 2020, according to the Catholic Media Association. The organization's current directory lists 84 newspapers as members. "We need to take a step back and look at why this is not working," said Helen Osman, president of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication. "This goes beyond just Catholic journalism. In this country we have so devalued the idea of local journalism that we're in a big hole."