Presented by The League of Women Voters of Baltimore City.

Over the past 15 years, more than one in five U.S. newspapers has closed, leaving hundreds of communities with no local news outlet. In other communities, papers have been purchased by national firms without strong ties to their communities, eroding local coverage there as well. What happens to a community without local news? What efforts are being made to save local papers or provide alternatives? And what can we—as consumers of local news—do to help save our newspapers?

Liz Bowie has been a reporter for The Baltimore Sun for more than 20 years, covering every aspect of education. Since joining The Sun in 1986, she has also covered environment, business, and state government news. A Baltimore native, she was a Spencer Fellow in Education Reporting at Columbia University.