Days after Republican Rep. Kristin Noble expressed public support for segregating schools by political party, the superintendent of schools in the town she represents delivered a forceful rebuke of her vision for education.
The Granite State News Collaborative, a network of local news organizations, is conducting a Community News Survey to take the pulse of news consumers in New Hampshire. Melanie Plenda, host “The State We’re In” — who’s also executive director of the collaborative is here to tell us what the survey is, why it’s being done and why you might want to participate
When readers across New Hampshire clicked “donate,” mailed checks, or dropped contributions off at local newsrooms this fall, many weren’t thinking about fundraising totals or matching formulas. They were thinking about school board meetings, town budgets, lake health, housing shortages — and the reporters who keep showing up to cover them.
Food insecurity. According to the 2025 Feeding America Report, one in nine New Hampshire residents face hunger. What does that mean? And how did those who rely on government assistance find help in the midst of the government shutdown? Here to discuss this and more is Elsy Cipriani, executive director of the New Hampshire Food Bank.
“When my fears start to build, I remind myself that all I can do is continue to fight,” Gray said. “My greatest hope is to enjoy all the little moments now and hope I can stick around long enough to witness the amazing humans my kids are already turning up to be.”
This isn’t about abstract support for “the media.” It’s about the beat reporters who sit through long meetings so you don’t have to; the investigative teams that follow the money; the editors who double-check claims before they become headlines; and the photographers and producers who bring complex issues to life. Strong local coverage saves you time, surfaces solutions, and makes public institutions more accountable.
A 2018 survey found that, while three-quarters of Americans could usually tell news from opinion in their go-to news source, fewer than half could do so with articles they came across on Facebook or Twitter.
The front page of an early October 2025 edition of The Keene Sentinel features stories about city elections, the ongoing drought in New Hampshire and two Medicare Advantage providers leaving the state. It’s all local news.
The town of Warner made headlines this summer that no town wants. The town administrator sought a restraining order against a selectman for alleged assault. Shortly afterward, the assault charges were dropped and she was put on leave. A firm hired to audit the town’s finances abruptly quit, citing concerns about the reliability of the town’s records, among other things.
All of it — and more — played out in public during selectboard meetings, where residents were allowed to ask questions and raise concerns. If not for the state’s right-to-know law, it could have played out behind closed doors instead and not led to public scrutiny of the town’s financial practices or conversations about adding cameras to town hall to address safety concerns.
Studies have shown a link between the decline in the kind of local news coverage the Bow Times offers and increased government spending, growing community polarization, a drop in civic engagement, and lower voter turnout.