What Is a News Desert?
A news desert is a community — a town, county, or neighborhood — that has lost reliable access to credible local news coverage. It might be a county that once had a weekly newspaper but no longer does. It might be a mid-sized city where the local TV station has dramatically cut its reporting staff. It might be a suburb or urban neighborhood that was never adequately covered in the first place.
News deserts are a growing phenomenon. Hundreds of local newspapers have closed in recent decades, and many that remain have significantly reduced staff and coverage. The communities left behind face consequences that extend well beyond an information gap.
How News Deserts Form
The causes are usually structural rather than sudden. The traditional business model for local newspapers — primarily supported by classified advertising and display advertising from local businesses — was disrupted by the internet. Classified advertising migrated to free online platforms. Display advertising fragmented across digital channels. Newspaper revenues declined, staff were cut, coverage shrank, readership fell further, and the cycle continued.
Private equity ownership of local news chains has also contributed to closures and reductions, as investment-focused ownership groups prioritize short-term financial returns over long-term community investment.
The Real Consequences for Communities
When local journalism disappears, communities don't just lose news — they lose a set of functions that journalism performs:
- Accountability: Without journalists attending and reporting on public meetings, local officials face less scrutiny. Research has found correlations between the loss of local news and increased municipal borrowing costs — a signal that financial markets, like communities, value transparency.
- Civic participation: Voter turnout in local elections tends to decline in news deserts, as residents have less information about candidates and ballot issues.
- Community identity: Local news helps communities know themselves — their history, their achievements, their challenges. Without it, that shared sense of identity weakens.
- Early warning: Local journalists often spot emerging problems — public health issues, environmental concerns, infrastructure failures — before they become crises.
What's Filling the Gap?
Communities are responding to news deserts in a variety of creative ways:
| Solution | Examples | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Nonprofit local news outlets | Community foundations, journalism nonprofits | Dependent on grants and donors |
| Community newsletters | Substack, email newsletters | Often one-person operations; limited capacity |
| University partnerships | Journalism school reporting projects | Inconsistent; dependent on academic calendar |
| Public radio expansion | Local NPR affiliates adding reporting staff | Primarily audio; may not reach all audiences |
| Civic-funded journalism | Government-funded local news (with editorial independence) | Independence concerns; political vulnerability |
What Communities Can Do
The response to a news desert can't come from journalists alone. It requires community investment — financial, social, and civic. Residents can subscribe to and financially support local outlets. Local businesses can choose to advertise in community publications. Civic organizations can partner with local journalists on community information projects.
Most importantly, communities can recognize that local journalism is a public good worth supporting — not just a commercial product that survives or fails on market logic alone. The first step is understanding what's been lost, and why it matters.