With the emergence of personality-driven broadcast journalism, the emphasis on local newspapers has all but vanished in the last decade or so.

Social media and prime time have taken over the general public’s attention, and many have forgotten about the importance of following local newspapers and news stations. It’s time to peel back away from the CNN and Fox News binary and start appreciating and investing in local newspapers.

Sick of polarized politics? Sick of editorialized news stories? Sensationalized headlines? Clickbait?

Local news can help you.

Local newspapers, such as the Dallas Morning News and Community Impact, can provide you unbiased, non-editorialized, news stories that can cater to you and your community specifically.

Many people have a misconception that the media and journalists are all up in New York and Washington, reporting to us from their ivory towers. It’s easy to get that idea when all you see are anchors like Laura Ingraham or Anderson Cooper, who have become celebrities. However, journalism exists much past your Jake Tappers and Chris Cuomos. There are reporters in your own city and in your state living in similar situations as you, and they are reporting on the stories you want to hear, the stories that directly affect you.

During the winter storm, I was able to get all of my information from The Dallas Morning News’s continued coverage on their Instagram, information I couldn’t have gotten from MSNBC or CNN. I was able to see local maps of water stations, grocery stores that weren’t emptied out, and track my provider’s power outage map. If I had logged into CNN or Fox all I would have seen was Ted Cruz on a flight to Cancun.

Journalism is about getting verified information and giving it to readers in a proper context. Local newspapers have always done that while bigger media outlets might have failed.