OHIO– A 2018 report from the University of North Carolina shows more than 1 in 5 local papers have closed since 2004, across the country. Over the last six years, Ohio’s newspaper journalists have declined by 43%, according to Policy Matters Ohio. Some researchers call this a crisis and say it demands public policy intervention. Wendy Patton says newspapers help knit a community together and when a city the size of Youngstown loses a local paper, you start to see it come apart.