As an old newspaperman, I couldn’t help but notice the study on the growing “news deserts.”
The study, by the Medill School at Northwestern University, has a map showing areas that are served by newspapers. More than one newspaper, in my mind, should be the norm. No matter how hard a news organization tries to be objective, it will fail at times. I read more than one paper and make up my one mind when accounts differ.
But 70 million Americans live in places served by only one newspaper — or none at all.
The map of the so-called news deserts — the places where the infrastructure for local news is shaky or has collapsed — looks a lot like Trump country.
In my mind, it’s a mistake to fret over the demise of newspapers in these rural areas when the communities that once supported them are suffering. When I was young, it was possible to go to small towns and find work at a weekly newspaper. Those papers are dying — about two a week, according to the study. But they are dying because those small towns are dying.
If these “deserts” can be reclaimed, if the communities can be given new life, newspapers will play a role. Biologists know that the way to stop an expanding desert is to plant drought-resistant trees. If small towns are going to flourish, they’ll need ways to spread accurate, responsible information.
I’m trying to imagine what a hardy, small-town newspaper would look like in the coming generation.
If you, too, are thinking about what a solution might look like, and are looking for a place to start, consider this: Of the 5,147 weekly newspapers in the United States, fewer than a third are locally owned and operated.
Source: Medill’s news release on its study is at https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/06/new-deserts-presskit/?fj=1
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