Blog Post #9

 News Deserts

  News Deserts is a community that is no longer covered by daily or non-daily newspapers. This term came to the United States when some weekly newspapers closed in the 2000s and 2010s. People and communities do not have the right resources for local and trustworthy news on important issues. 

There are 70 million Americans who live in a News Desert and 202 counties that are in danger of losing their local news. By using this website, you can see if you live in a News Desert or not. North Carolina has six counties without newspapers. Massachusetts has zero counties without local news. Barnstable County located in Cape Cod, MA has nine newspapers! California only has two counties without newspapers. San Bernardino County has 27 newspapers! 

How to Make a Change 

By identifying areas in each state that do not have access to local news or will soon lose their local news. It will help realize how much funding is needed to make those changes. Adding more funding to these companies will help them provide local news and information to local citizens. 

More people tend to trust and pay more attention to local news rather than Global. News Deserts will have more people confused and frustrated. It will also cause more corruption in our society. People will feel lost and not know what is happening in the community that is closest to them. Some people would not even bother to look at Global news anymore because it is so far from them especially if they do not have local news.

How will it Affect the Generations

News Deserts will affect the older generation rather than the younger because the older generation reads and pays more attention to the local news. The younger generation looks at their phone and different sites to find out news but it would still just be Global. Eventually, I think it will affect the younger generation as they grow up and want to pay attention more to the community that they are living in. Some people do not care to know the local news and just want to live their lives and so News Deserts won't really affect them. The local news won't be an outlet for all people no matter if you are male, female, gay, or straight. 

This is a very crazy world and I think it is good for everyone to be aware of what is happening around us but also globally. I think News deserts would affect my generation tremendously. It is a way to keep us filled in on all of the news and information but it is also a way of keeping us safe in a world that is always changing. 

How will it Affect My Family and I 

I tend to look more at local news rather than Global news just because I like to know more about what is happening in the community closest to me. I will look at Global news more if I want to know more about politics but Global news does not affect me as much as local news. My family also turns to local news rather than Global news so I think it would affect my family very much. I think we would definitely feel lost and in the unknown if we did not have local news. I think having both local and Global news makes us more aware of everything happening around us but it also makes us realize how crazy this world is.