BLOG POST #9

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NEWS DESERTS

After doing some major research on the topic of "News Desserts" I have found that the UNC Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media defines it as a community, either rural or urban, with limited access to the sort of credible and comprehensive news and information that feeds democracy at the grassroots level.

You may think it's no big deal... I can look it up on my phone! However, you do not want that to be the case, especially for those highly involved in their community who want a valuable source of news. Newspapers provide communities and neighborhoods with valuable information such as government, health, and environmental issues. Because local newspapers have always been the main traditional source of providing information, communities are going to struggle because of the disappearance of newspapers throughout recent years. 

 

"Between the pre-pandemic months of late 2019 and the end of May 2022, more than 360 newspapers closed, the report by Medill’s Local News Initiative found. Since 2005, the country has lost more than one-fourth of its newspapers and is on track to lose a third by 2025 (Northwestern News)." There is now over 1/5 of the country left without news. This can be considered a crisis for our democracy and society, leaving people with limited sources to find out information.

 

A report from The Washington Post states, “Invariably, the economically struggling, traditionally underserved communities that need local journalism the most are the very places where it is most difficult to sustain either print or digital news organizations.” As new deserts keep increasing, more than 70 million people are a loss of local news. 

Although there are still areas in the United States that are receiving newspapers, a huge amount of local journalists have been laid off because of the increase in news deserts. Not only is it hurting the professions of many journalists, but it is hurting society as a whole. False information is more easily spread without a source of news, and voter participation begins to decline along with a very corrupt side to businesses and government organizations.  

Why is this happening? You may ask.

The digital world of news media is thriving! Media outlets began to grow from huge profits through articles off of the internet because it was cheap, and quick to publish. However, this is not a good thing whatsoever. 

Josh Marshall, journalist, and founder of Talking Points Memo believes that the whole age of digital news has been entirely based on lies. 

Social media has changed how news is reported and how users perceive it on various social media platforms. People can now post about an event that has already happened on their own platforms to record what they see and hear. For the most part, social media is a very poor credible source to rely on for news. 

To begin, FAKE NEWS is a problem that has been around for centuries and is only going to keep evolving with the use of social media platforms and technology. An article written about the subject of fake news published by three MIT professors, Sinan Aral, Deb Roy, and Soroush Vosough declared, “they found falsehoods are 70% more likely to be retweeted on Twitter than the truth and reach their first 1,500 people six times faster.” Knowing this is a scary thought, especially knowing how many people love to scroll through their Twitter feed and react to political information being spread. 

Clickbait is another reason why fake news exists because an ad will present you with an exaggerated photo to grab your attention. It is an extensive issue, especially in today's society, where most people are on almost every social media platform. 

Obtaining news is important to read from a variety of trusted sources. It is important to have more than one source and to keep an open mind. 

Anyway...

Wouldn't it be nice to have the good ol' newspaper back with a hot cup of coffee?