# Local news in Alaska

Source: https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-alaska
Published by NewsUSA. Updated 2026-11-14.

> Short answer: In Medill's 2026 data, Alaska has 17 newspapers, 11 digital-only news sites, 27 public broadcasters and 3 local TV newsrooms. Of its 30 boroughs and census areas, seven have no local news source, and five have only one source. That is 2.3 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 nationally.

| Measure | Alaska | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Newspapers | 17 | 5,523 |
| Digital-only news sites | 11 | 1,926 |
| Public broadcasters | 27 | 342 |
| Local TV newsrooms | 3 | 678 |
| Newspapers per 100,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Boroughs and census areas with no local news source | 7 | 238 |
| Boroughs and census areas with only one | 5 | 1,478 |
| Boroughs and census areas | 30 | 3,144 |

Source: Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University, 2026 data; population from the US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025. The national county figures come from Medill's county data.

## How Alaska compares

- Alaska has 2.3 newspapers for every 100,000 residents, the 17th highest of the 50 states and DC. The national figure is 1.6.
- Of the other states, 10 have more counties with no local news source than Alaska.
- The borough or census area with the most local news sources is Anchorage Municipality, with 10.

## Map: local news by borough or census area

![Map of Alaska's 30 boroughs and census areas, shaded by number of local news sources: 7 with none, 5 with one, 16 with two to four and 2 with five or more. Source: Medill Local News Initiative, 2026 data.](https://trynewsusa.com/charts/map-local-news-alaska.png)

## Boroughs and census areas with no local news source

In Medill's 2026 data, these boroughs and census areas have no newspaper, digital news site, public broadcaster or local TV newsroom: Bristol Bay Borough, Denali Borough, Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Lake and Peninsula Borough, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Skagway Municipality, Yakutat City and Borough.

## Every borough or census area in Alaska

| Borough or census area | Newspapers | Digital sites | Public broadcasters | Local TV | Local news sources | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleutians East Borough | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Aleutians West Census Area | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Anchorage Municipality | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 10 | Two or more |
| Bethel Census Area | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Bristol Bay Borough | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Chugach Census Area | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Copper River Census Area | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Denali Borough | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Dillingham Census Area | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Fairbanks North Star Borough | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |
| Haines Borough | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Hoonah-Angoon Census Area | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Juneau City and Borough | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Two or more |
| Kenai Peninsula Borough | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | Two or more |
| Ketchikan Gateway Borough | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Kodiak Island Borough | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Kusilvak Census Area | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Lake and Peninsula Borough | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Nome Census Area | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| North Slope Borough | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Northwest Arctic Borough | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Petersburg Borough | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Sitka City and Borough | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Skagway Municipality | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Southeast Fairbanks Census Area | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | One source |
| Wrangell City and Borough | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Two or more |
| Yakutat City and Borough | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | News desert |
| Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | Two or more |

Source: Medill Local News Initiative, Northwestern University, county data behind its 2026 map, read November 9, 2026. A borough or census area's local news sources are its newspapers, digital sites, public broadcasters and local TV newsrooms.

## Similar states

Closest to Alaska (2.3) on newspapers per 100,000 residents: [Illinois](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-illinois) (2.2) and [Rhode Island](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-rhode-island) (2.2).

## Use this data

Alaska alone: [Alaska by borough or census area, 2026 (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-alaska-2026.csv). Every county in the country is in one file: [news outlets by county, 2026 (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-outlets-by-county-2026.csv). State totals are in [news outlets by state (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-outlets-by-state-2026.csv) and [news deserts by state (CSV)](https://trynewsusa.com/news-deserts-by-state-2026.csv). Credit the Medill Local News Initiative for the figures, and link to this page or to [news deserts by state](https://trynewsusa.com/news-deserts-by-state), which has every state side by side and a lookup you can put on your own site.

## Put these figures on your site

You are welcome to embed this card on your own site. It shows Alaska's figures from Medill's 2026 data and links back to this page. Copy this code. On narrow pages, raise the height to 500.

## Getting a story onto local news sites

A feature story placed through a syndication network can run on local news sites in many states at once. [How to get your brand on local news sites](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-sites) explains how that works, and [local news statistics](https://trynewsusa.com/local-news-statistics) has the national picture.

## Questions

### How many news deserts are in Alaska?

Of its 30 boroughs and census areas, seven: Bristol Bay Borough, Denali Borough, Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Lake and Peninsula Borough, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Skagway Municipality, Yakutat City and Borough. A news desert is a borough or census area with no newspaper, digital news site, public broadcaster or local TV newsroom, in Medill's 2026 data.

### How many newspapers are in Alaska?

17, in Medill's 2026 data. That is 2.3 for every 100,000 residents, against 1.6 for the whole country.

### Which Alaska borough or census area has the most local news sources?

Anchorage Municipality, with 10: 1 newspaper, 4 digital sites, 2 public broadcasters and 3 local TV newsrooms, in Medill's 2026 data.

## How this page was made

Outlet counts and news deserts come from the Medill Local News Initiative's 2026 data: the state figures on its map (read November 8, 2026) and the outlet list and county data behind it (read November 9). NewsUSA counted the outlets by county and checked on every build that the counties add up to Medill's state figures. Population is the US Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimate.

- [Medill Local News Initiative: Explore the local news landscape (2026 data; state figures read November 8, outlet list and county figures November 9)](https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/state-of-local-news/explore/), read November 9, 2026
- [US Census Bureau: state population estimates, Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025)](https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/state/totals/NST-EST2025-ALLDATA.csv), read November 9, 2026