Comment by enigmoid

Patch [1] seems to be exactly what you’re describing — “local news in a box”:

> What is Patch? > > Patch is an innovative way to find out about, and participate in, what's going on near you.

My Connecticut hometown had a Patch site. As other commenters have pointed out, apps don’t address a dearth of local journalists (Patch appears to encourage community participation, which sounds good, but is not journalism), funding for local news (though I would expect it to reduce operating costs), etc.

[1] https://patch.com/about