The first time I ever applied for a job, it was at my local newspaper; I remember seeing the iMacs on the desk and thinking that if I really wanted to work in journalism, I might have to learn macOS. The paper wasn’t hiring, but I’ve always kept an eye on the world of journalism since – watching it decline, as one might an aging relative. I believe in newspapers as organs of local culture and hate seeing them wither away. Ghosting the News is a brief work on the plight of local papers and argues for their importance after attributing their decline to the  rise of web news and financial upsets like the 2008 recession  and COVID.  Sullivan’s work focuses on papers for their journalistic potential – even with declining staffs, they still produce a greater volume of news  than attractive people on TV talking briefly about goings-on in town –  and the importance that has for democracy.  The American republic since the Founding has prioritized newspapers, seeing the free flow of information as vital to an informed res publica: that’s why the post office made it cheaper to mail newspapers than letters!   Although Sullivan’s own work demonstrates one reason so many people have disengaged from ‘mainstream news’ –  the easy contempt for those on the wrong political side – I still found it engaging.  I’m amazed that my own town has held on to its local paper, even if it’s become a twice-weekly rather than a daily, and this little book made me more grateful that it’s still around.