Which local US newspapers ranked in Ad Fontes’ 2025 ‘green box’ and why does that matter?
Executive summary
Ad Fontes’ 2025 Media Bias Chart places a large number of U.S. local newspapers inside its “green box,” meaning the organization’s analysts judged them to be among the most reliable and minimally biased of the outlets it rates; Ad Fontes reports that roughly 1,280 local sites/newspapers fall within the green box and that 95% of the local outlets it has rated land there [1]. The chart’s monthly and flagship releases highlight a rotating sample of sources (including local papers such as the Pahrump Valley Times and The Sacramento Bee), and Ad Fontes publishes lists and an interactive chart so readers and researchers can see which specific outlets were featured in each month’s snapshot [2] [3] [4].
1. What Ad Fontes actually put in the green box in 2025 — scale and examples
Ad Fontes’ June 2025 web/print Media Bias Chart snapshot included 122 featured sources drawn from more than 2,650 rated sites, and the organization says its green box represents “recommended” outlets judged to be minimally biased and reliable, with the monthly chart mixing national and local titles among those selections [2]. Ad Fontes and related write‑ups explicitly call out local examples in 2025, naming outlets like the Pahrump Valley Times and The Sacramento Bee among those included on the April/June roundups [3], and static lists published by Ad Fontes show many local and regional newspapers across their periodic lists [5]. The interactive chart and web lists are the authoritative places to check any particular month’s exact roster of green‑box outlets [4].
2. Why being in the green box matters — what Ad Fontes says the label means
Placement in Ad Fontes’ green box signals that a source scored highly on the project’s combined reliability and low‑bias metrics: Ad Fontes markets the green section as the “recommended” segment for a healthy news diet and urges readers to try outlets there even if unfamiliar [6]. The organization’s public description and press posts emphasize that the green box contains sites judged to provide “minimally biased and reliable, fact‑based information,” and they use that framing to recommend these sources to readers, educators and platforms seeking reputable outlets [2] [7]. For libraries and educators, those green‑box classifications are sometimes used as shorthand to recommend sources for research and teaching [8].
3. How the ratings are produced — a methodological caveat
Ad Fontes’ ratings derive from sampling a news outlet’s content across cycles and having panels of analysts representing left, right and center independently rate pieces, with scores averaged into reliability and bias metrics — a process the organization describes as deliberate and intended to reduce single‑perspective distortion [9]. That methodology underpins why Ad Fontes and its supporters treat green‑box inclusion as meaningful, but it also means placement reflects sampled content and panel judgments rather than an immutable property of a brand, and the chart is updated periodically so which local papers appear in a given month’s public snapshot can change [9] [2].
4. Pushback and context — what critics and observers note
Ad Fontes presents itself as nonpartisan and says it recruits analysts across the political spectrum, yet its ratings have attracted dispute from outlets labeled heavily biased and from commentators who allege conservative or liberal slants in ratings; the Wikipedia entry records that some outlets criticized the chart’s assessments in the past [10]. Readers should understand that green‑box status is an institutional recommendation grounded in Ad Fontes’ framework and not an uncontested universal seal; independent verification by consulting the interactive chart or the organization’s published monthly lists is necessary to confirm whether a particular local paper appears in a specific 2025 snapshot [4] [2].
5. Practical takeaway — how to use the green‑box signal
For consumers and researchers, the practical value of knowing which local U.S. newspapers sit in Ad Fontes’ 2025 green box is that it offers a vetted starting list of local outlets that the chart’s methodology judged relatively reliable and balanced, but users should cross‑check individual outlets on Ad Fontes’ interactive chart or static lists to get the precise names and month‑by‑month inclusions rather than relying on summary claims [4] [5]. Ad Fontes’ own communications encourage sampling from green‑box sources to “start” a more fact‑based news diet, and the organization’s app and web pages let users drill down into which local papers are included in each release [6] [11].