Local TV news is your best source right now. And it’s free, with an antenna.

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As the kids say, local news is having a moment. As we all sit in our homes, we’re increasingly turning to local news broadcasts to try to make sense of what’s going on outside our doors. Just a few months ago we might have said that local news was a wasteland, but broadcasters all over the country are stepping up.

Why local news matters – and why the internet does it so poorly

Local news is what’s going to keep you safe right now. Local news will tell you what the state of your local hospital is, how the nursing homes in your area are fairing, and all about restrictions that are in place that you need to know about.

The internet has always been a really bad place to find local news. I’ve said for over a decade that it’s easier to find out the weather in Tibet than it is to find out what the hot lunch schedule at my kid’s school is. The internet is literally designed to be global, not local. I’ll give credit to Twitter and Instagram for having some local news, but those aren’t really news sites. So it’s hard to know if you can trust what’s being said.

No, you need real local news, the kind that only local TV stations can provide. If your city or town still has a local paper, you might get something there, but chances are they don’t have enough staff or enough money to really investigate things the way a TV station can.

It’s not my imagination

I got the idea for this article by reading an article at TV News Checka site popular with professional broadcasters. They point out,

Americans Are Flocking to Local News — Local news has become the primary destination for trusted and relevant news and information, with overall local news reach expanding 20 points (82% are watching, 91% are using at least one local news platform), daily viewing has nearly doubled to 35%.

It’s hard to know if this trend will continue if we look out two or three months, we may see a change right back to people’s old habits. Or, this whole situation could change us forever, and it may mean a real resurgence of interest in local news.

All news is local news

Speaking on condition on anonymity, a prominent national broadcasting executive recently told me that local news and local sports are the keys to keeping local TV stations relevant. They’ve been teling me this for years, and it’s never been more true than this particular moment in time. Local sports is being sidelined right now, but local news is definitely important right now. I don’t know about you but for me, the only complaint I have with local coverage right now is that there isn’t enough of it. All of a sudden, it literally seems like a life-or-death proposition.

Get local news for free

With a TV antenna from Solid Signal, you can get all your local channels, even the ones the cable company doesn’t carry. Some areas have local news feeds on a subchannel, meaning your need for local information is going to be even easier to satisfy. Once you put that antenna up, there’s no more to pay, ever. Broadcast television comes in crystal clear and it’s totally free. If all you’re watching right now is local news, why are you paying the cable company?

This is the perfect time to order that TV antenna.  We have great stock on all the popular brands and we’re ready to ship from our Michigan warehouse today. You could be enjoying all the news you need so desperately, for free, before you know it. When you think about it, it’s nice to hear that something out there is a slam dunk, especially now. Well, a TV antenna from Solid Signal is just that.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.