UO study: News and information systems in Lincoln County are fragmented, uneven and “under strain”

By QUINTON SMITH/Lincoln Chronicle

Local news and information systems in Lincoln County are fragmented, access is uneven and depends on geography, language and familiarity with public institutions, according to a study by a University of Oregon journalism professor and his students.

The result, the study found, is “a system under strain, characterized more by fragmentation, uneven access, and deficiencies in trust, coordination, and coverage than by outright absence.”

The 53-page report, released this month, used responses from 787 surveys, individual follow-up interviews and community meetings in Newport and Lincoln City.

It is the seventh such survey that Andrew DeVigal, director of the UO’s Agora Center, and his “Engaged Journalism” classes have done over the last six years focused mostly on news and information systems in rural Oregon communities.

“Residents depend on a combination of local journalism, public media, institutional communication, and informal networks to remain informed,” the report states. “Most report minimal barriers to accessing information, and local outlets continue to play a significant role in fostering community connections.

“This evolving media landscape demonstrates both adaptation and fragmentation. No single outlet has assumed the comprehensive role formerly held by legacy newspapers. Instead, residents rely on a combination of nonprofit journalism, regional media, informal networks, and digital platforms.”

Lincoln County is not alone.

DeVigal is the co-author of studies in 2022 and 2025 on the decline of the traditional news landscape in Oregon, mirroring the national trend of the shrinking and disappearance of legacy newspapers, the fragmentation of news sources, and the struggle of other forms of media to fill the void.

While Lincoln County was geographically the largest area DeVigal and his students studied, what they found generally was that the central Oregon coast had a fragmented media landscape “all fairly consistent with the other assessments we’ve done.”

The study said it found several distinct information patterns:

• First, the primary challenge is not merely access, but coherence. “Although information is distributed across numerous channels, residents report difficulty navigating available resources, assessing reliability, and identifying appropriate sources for various types of information,” the study said. “Email newsletters, Facebook, and word of mouth frequently serve as connectors across systems, amplifying information while also contributing to inconsistency.”
• Second, trust within the information ecosystem is multifaceted. “Residents tend to trust personal networks and journalists who maintain a visible presence in the community,” the study said. “However, confidence in the accuracy, independence, and comprehensiveness of information is inconsistent. Concerns about bias, incomplete coverage, and financial influence indicate that trust must be established through transparent, sustained practices.”
• Third, coverage gaps remain evident across both geographic areas and demographic groups. Communities outside Newport, such as Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, and Siletz, report limited local reporting. Spanish-speaking residents and younger audiences identify barriers related to language, format, and access points. “These challenges are systemic, indicating that the current information ecosystem does not yet fully represent or reach the county’s diverse population,” the study said.
• Fourth, the civic information infrastructure has deteriorated in recent years. The closure of several commercial radio stations, coupled with limited reporting capacity has diminished redundancy in critical information systems, especially during emergencies. “While residents continue to depend on trusted sources such as public radio and community networks, the overall system is more fragile than it may initially appear,” the study said.

The study’s recommendations focus on six interrelated areas — improving coordination across information systems, strengthening emergency communications, investing in trust-building practices, expanding civic coverage, increasing representation and access, and developing sustainable models for local journalism.

“This report is intended as a starting point rather than a definitive conclusion,” the report said. “Its value depends on its application. For Lincoln County, the primary opportunity is to translate these insights into ongoing collaboration among media, public institutions, and community organizations, ensuring that residents can access information, see themselves reflected within it, and take informed action.”

Local media

The Lincoln Chronicle, which promoted the study in several news stories, was the most frequently named outlet in the survey, appearing in 375 responses from nearly half of all survey participants. The UO study said its assessment showed the nonprofit “Lincoln Chronicle serves as the county’s most relied-upon local news source while also attracting the scrutiny that role entails.”

The number of completed surveys was almost four times the number in DeVigal’s previous studies.

The Lincoln County Leader, previously known as the Newport News Times and, before that, the Lincoln City News Guard, was the second most frequently named, cited by 90 respondents, or approximately 11 percent of the sample.

“Despite this recognition, qualitative sentiment about the Leader was largely critical, focusing on the narrative that the paper’s acquisition by a regional chain had diminished its quality,” the report said. “Respondents described it as ‘a shell of its former self,’ noted the elimination of local reporting positions, and characterized its content as increasingly wire-fed rather than locally produced.”

The Newport News Times was named by 23 respondents, or approximately 3 percent of the sample, most of whom referred to it in the past tense, indicating that it no longer exists in its former form. Others used the name interchangeably with the Lincoln County Leader, treating both as names for the same declining institution.

“Together, these two outlets represent one of the clearest trust signals in the data — residents are not opposed to local print journalism; many actively desire it,” the report said. “The frustration expressed regarding the Leader and the News Times reflects unmet demand rather than indifference, and highlights the need for a local, accountable outlet that respondents would trust and support.”

DeVigal wrote that although the Lincoln County Leader was invited to participate as a distribution partner early in the process, its publisher and editor did not respond to the outreach.

The report said that the appearance of two other outlets — Oregon Coast Breaking News and Boiler Bay Beacon — in “organic responses” despite not participating in survey distribution “suggests that their presence in the county’s information ecosystem is recognized by some residents.”

The report said their absence from the survey distribution resulted from “early outreach that did not elicit participation rather than from intentional exclusion.” But the results, DeVigal’s report said “represents a potential blind spot that may have influenced these findings and … highlights the need for more comprehensive engagement in future assessments and presents an opportunity to include these outlets more fully in the process.”

Coherence and capacity

The UO report said the primary challenges among local readers wanting information centers on fragmentation and navigation.

“Residents report difficulty staying informed about local issues when information is dispersed across multiple platforms, inconsistently updated, or difficult to locate,” it concluded. “For some individuals, the challenge is not the existence of information, but the effort required to synthesize a coherent understanding of local events. … in Lincoln County, the central challenge concerns coherence, consistency, credibility, and the overall capacity of the information system to deliver accessible, navigable content, rather than affordability.”

The report offered six key findings and made six recommendations:

• Residents must actively navigate a fragmented local information environment, requiring effort to remain informed across multiple disconnected sources. While survey data suggest diversity of access, in practice, this shows up as a burden, inconsistency, and unequal awareness.
• Lincoln County residents face substantial gaps in timely, real-time information, especially during emergencies and rapidly evolving events. Although the information ecosystem offers broad coverage, it frequently fails when speed and clarity are most critical.
• Trust in local information is present; however, it remains conditional and fragile, grounded primarily in perceived accuracy and consistency rather than institutional authority.
• Residents demonstrate a strong demand for accessible, transparent, and accountable civic information; however, access to decision-making processes remains inconsistent and, at times, exclusionary.
• Informal networks such as neighbors, friends, and community groups function as essential infrastructure for information sharing, often filling gaps left by formal systems.
• Access to and participation in the local information ecosystem differ markedly across age groups, geographic regions, and communities, resulting in uneven representation and visibility.

Recommendations

• Build a coordinated information infrastructure to reduce fragmentation and strengthen sustainability. “Local news outlets experiencing financial strain cannot accommodate increased demand without additional investment. Therefore, any initiative to develop shared infrastructure must be accompanied by strategies that support local journalism, such as grant funding, diversified revenue streams, and opportunities for community contribution.”
• Establish a resilient emergency communication system and ensure residents know how to use it. “The most pressing gap identified during listening sessions was not general access to information, but rather the failure of communication systems during crises. Residents highlighted the lack of reliable, real-time communication at critical moments.”
• Strengthen trust through transparent editorial practices and investment in journalistic capacity. “Trust emerged as the most significant and multifaceted theme in the survey. Among 110 responses advocating for reduced bias and increased trust, residents expressed not a rejection of journalism, but a demand for greater process clarity and accountability.”
• Expand civic accountability through structured coverage and accessible public information. “Residents articulated a significant need for clearer and more consistent coverage of local government and civic decision-making. Requests for more in-depth reporting often focused on meetings, decisions, and mechanisms for follow-up accountability.”
• Formalize and support informal networks as essential information infrastructure. “Informal networks are central to Lincoln County’s information ecosystem. Residents depend on neighbors, community groups, and physical gathering spaces to access and interpret information.”
• Expand representation through geographic coverage, multilingual access, and youth engagement. “Representation gaps are evident both geographically and demographically. Residents throughout Lincoln County have expressed concern that news coverage is concentrated in specific areas, particularly Newport, resulting in reduced visibility for other communities.”

The report concluded that its six recommendations “are interconnected.”

“Initiatives to establish a centralized directory, broaden civic coverage, and enhance informal networks all indicate a collective need for coordination,” it said. “Investments in trust and emergency communication rely on the existence of dependable local outlets. Advancements in one domain will reinforce progress in others. The primary challenge lies not in identifying solutions, but in integrating them into a system that accurately reflects the flow of information within Lincoln County.”

• Quinton Smith is the editor of Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]

To read the full UO local information report, go here