Newspapers owned by small, independent groups — often families or businesses invested in their local communities — are shuttering at an alarming pace compared to those owned by large investment companies, according to a new report from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.

Why it matters: Independent newspapers are more likely to represent rural communities that are at greater risk of becoming a "news desert," or an area with extremely limited or zero access to a local news source.

Zoom in: The erosion of small, independent newspapers means that the majority of remaining papers in the U.S. will be even more heavily concentrated among larger hedge funds and private equity-backed groups that tend to be less invested in local communities. • "The scary thing about that is that those

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