EOTO 2 Reaction Post

                               News Deserts 

What happens if the public does not have any access to the news? That’s a scary proposition on many levels. An interesting policy that deals with this is News Deserts.   

Newspapers have been around since before the Revolutionary War. They have transformed news sharing as the norm of modern-day journalism that we see today. What happens when rural areas are not equipped with proper access to the information? How is the public able to find that information out? Important questions and issues that need to be addressed.  

A News Desert is a collective community that does not have access to credible and factual local news. More than three thousand of today’s counties do not have local newspapers for their citizens.  

                                                                          Editor and Publisher 
                    News Desert Graphic Image 

American citizens need to have an outlet to read about all forms of journalism such as economics, politics, health, and lifestyle. The public opinions are especially important to many major metro societal issues. If the public does not have the information, then they are not equipped with the knowledge needed to understand the issues that cause an uproar in society. 

Local newspapers connect us to our county. The counties are what form the census of society, which like pieces to a puzzle, form a state. From the states, the public forms its majority just as votes play a role in a presidential election. America is the collective census that society represents with the public’s opinions.  

One major issue contributing to the deserts is that big-city newspapers are cutting back on regional news releases. This is an economic concern. If a rural newspaper company struggles financially, this causes them to end up as a news desert.    

People who reside in the smaller areas are automatically limited to the types of information that they can access. If people cannot find news outlets, they are more likely to find misinformation in the small amount they can access.  

Losing local news does not only have effects on society but has lasting negative effects on society. Many journalists lose their jobs every time a regional journalism company is shut down.  

By bringing awareness to this issue, this will bring light to the dire need to keep local newspapers alive. Promoting and advocating for increasing funds for local newspapers will be the solution to prevent more news deserts.  

However, since the 2000’s newspaper departments have been constantly crumbling due to the easy access of news online. Unfortunately, most people that live in rural areas do not have access to local newspapers or the Internet.  

                                                                      U.Snewsdeserts.com 
Graph representation of news deserts in America. 

In North Carolina, there are more than fifty-eight counties that actually have more than a single newspaper. In my county, Iredell,  there are two local newspapers. In High Point, there are three local newspapers.  

News Deserts have lasting implications not only on the decline of printed papers but also negatively affect the journalism industry. Providing funds for local newspaper companies is critical. As more news deserts appear across rural areas in America, it is only a matter of time before the newspaper, that transformed news sharing, becomes extinct.