The latest: The weekly Queens Tribune, my alma mater, is facing tough times. After new owners bought it eight months ago, they laid off some staffers and hired freelancers to do much of the reporting.

Then funding dried up. Andy Holt, CEO of the company that runs the Tribune, told me, “We’re in conversation with people about taking over” the paper, which is $1 million in debt.

Why it matters: Across the country, local reporters are watchdogs who keep a close eye on state and local government.

These days, you may be getting more “news” that circulates because it outrages or entertains (Bill de Blasio’s pizza fork, Alec Baldwin’s outbursts) and less that informs (subway changes, voting reforms).

What’s causing it: Google and Facebook are eating up advertising revenue, while Amazon is decimating brick-and-mortar stores that used to advertise in local papers. Add the growth of social media and the decline of news literacy, and you have 2018.