The most critical feedback loop in a democracy is a free press and access to vital information. Yet decades of corporate consolidation allowed giant conglomerates to annihilate local news outlets and predatory hedge funds are leaving news deserts in their wake. In 2025, a fifth of people in the U.S. live with little or no access to local news and three quarters of newspaper jobs have been axed over the last 20 years. But new models are crystallizing to fill the void, thanks to innovating journalists and publishers. With Larry Ryckman, publisher and co-founder of The Colorado Sun; Madeleine Bair, founder of El Tímpano; and Jacob Simas, community journalism director for the Cityside Journalism Initiative.