"News deserts, like food deserts, are the result of systemic failures to meet the needs of all communities"(Miller). Either urban or rural areas news deserts can occur. Limited access to certain, credible information that feeds to the democracies base. Inequity is caused due to an abundance of news coverage in one neighborhood and not equal coverage in the adjacent neighborhood. News deserts causes problems for both supply and demand. Metro papers are cutting back on their supply in rural areas creating a lack of coverage and circulation. For issues with demand, people in the areas of news availability decide to opt out and not subscribe to these local reduced news stations. Although we have the media to look up news articles, the cause of news depravity has affected some people in a negative way. People now don't have the vital source of information right at their front door every morning. Many workers have been laid off as well such as reporters. "Over 65 million Americans live in counties with only one local newspaper- or none at all" (Hendrickson, 2019). Everyday the number of news deserts increases. Many people don't see the point when everything is digital now, creating newspapers to disappear. Few newspapers make journalists go beyond and write news stories about public health issues, education, maintaining Washington Bureaus, etc. Because of the lack of investigating newsrooms for potential stories, the newspapers become less valuable and less valuable to their community.
The effect of people turning their heads on local newspapers has resulted in less people running for election in communities with lost reporters. The turnout for the local and state election is also falling. This affects our world in such a negative way. No one is as interested in our government system and the news as much as they used to be. We are setting our government up for a huge downfall the more we focus on other things rather than real world problems. These News Deserts are creating citizens to be less involved as well. Instead of a paper being at our door every morning, reminding us to read about what is going on in our world each day, now we have the option. The option to search up news stories, and with these news stations decreasing, it creates our minds to view the local news and world news as less important as it used to be. Today, many people forget to look up news stories because it isn't being put straight in front of them anymore.
Generation z is going to struggle with these news deserts the most. Very few young adults are up to date on what the government says and does now because they didn't really grow up with local newspapers. If we are already struggling now, imagine what this is going to do to our country in the future. We are going to end up having government officials who lack experience and knowledge. We are also going to suffer using our rights and speaking up because we don't know what is going on. I think it is very important that we try to inform ourselves more on what is going on in our world or we will continue to dig this country deep into a whole and it will be ruined.
https://www.cislm.org/what-exactly-is-a-news-desert/
https://dallasfreepress.com/whats-a-news-desert/
https://www.brookings.edu/research/local-journalism-in-crisis-why-america-must-revive-its-local-newsrooms/
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