The dramatic events of 2020-the presidential election, the COVID-19 pandemic, protests for racial justice-affected every corner of American life. What did these events mean for the residents of small towns and cities that are often overlooked by national newspapers? How do local stories change when they are told by journalists with roots in these communities? And what is lost as this kind of coverage disappears?American Deadline brings together dispatches from four longtime local journalists in different parts of the United States that tell the story of 2020 anew. It shares reporting from Bowling Green, Virginia; Macon, Georgia; McKeesport, Pennsylvania; and McAllen, Texas-two towns that lost their local newspapers and two where they are barely hanging on. The authors consider what makes each town distinctive and how these local perspectives tell a part of a broader American story. This book reports on how residents of these towns grapple with and talk about issues relating to race, schooling, health, immigration, deindustrialization, as well as local and national politics amid a changing and increasingly precarious information ecosystem. A distinct and intimate look at a calamitous year, American Deadline is an important book for all readers interested in the possibilities and future of local journalism.

AcknowledgmentsIntroduction, by Michael Shapiro1. The Mystery of Caroline County, Virginia (Bowling Green)2. What's Vexing Macon, Georgia? (Macon)3. Red Streets versus Blue Streets in McKeesport, Pennsylvania (McKeesport)4. Fighting the Wall Along the Rio Grande (McAllen)5. Are Democrats an Endangered Species in Caroline County? (Bowling Green)6. Yes, Dorothy, We Are Way Outside the Beltway (Macon)7. Fear and Loathing in the Time of Coronavirus (McKeesport)8. In the Rio Grande Valley, a Border Closes, and Signs of a Wall Appear as the Pandemic Spreads (McAllen)9. The Ghost of a Weekly Covers the Pandemic (Bowling Green)10. Standing on Sinking Sand, Living in Limbo (Macon)11. Transparency in a Time of Pandemic (McKeesport)12. COVID-19 Has Changed How We Report Stories on the Border (McAllen)13. How the Pandemic Is Playing in Rural Virginia (Bowling Green)14. A Good Idea at the Time (Macon)15. In Towns Like McKeesport, the Future Was Already Precarious. Then Came Coronavirus. (McKeesport)16. Saving Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge Extends Beyond Political Boundaries (McAllen)17. At the Edge of a Pandemic, Its Direction Unknown (Bowling Green)18. Dirty Politics in the Digital Age (Macon)19. How Facebook Has Undermined Communal Conversation in McKeesport (McKeesport)20. South Texas Was Reopening. Now COVID-19 Is Roaring Back. (McAllen)21. Racism, Confederate Statues, and the View from Frog Level, Virginia (Bowling Green)22. Macon-Bibb County Votes While a Nation Protests (Macon)23. "McAllen and South Texas Need Help Now" (McAllen)24. When a Newspaper Dies, What Fills the Void? (Bowling Green)25. To School or Not to School-a Burning Question (Macon)26. What Will "Normal" Mean After COVID-19? (McKeesport)27. South Texas Is a Bad Algorithm Right Now (McAllen)28. In Rural Virginia, a Tale of Two Congressional Districts (Bowling Green)29. A Local Election, School Reopenings, and the Pandemic (Macon)30. Will Western Pennsylvania Become a String of Ghost Towns? (McKeesport)31. Where Are the Campaign Signs and the Politiqueras? (McAllen)32. A Confederate Soldier Moves On (Bowling Green)33. Macon-Bibb County and the Unrelenting Shock of COVID-19 (Macon)34. Will the Sons of Steelworkers See Trump's COVID-19 Behavior as Strong or Reckless? (McKeesport)35. Counting on Next Year Being Much Better (McAllen)36. Election Day ApproachesPostscript: January 20, 2021Index