By Mary O’KEEFE

According to the University of San Francisco, the phrase “news desert” was first coined around 2011 by journalist Laura S. Washington who wrote about a “communications desert.” The reporter attributed that phrase to a community organizer in the South Side of Chicago in the article “The Paradox of Our Media Age and What to Do About It” in the In These Times publication.

In that article the author wrote, “In this revolutionary media age our communities are parched for information and news coverage with context and quality.”

This article was published in 2011 and since then even more news deserts have emerged as more and more independently owned local newspapers have closed their doors.

In 2022 the estimated total U.S. daily newspaper circulation print and digital combined was 20.9 million from both weekday and Sunday – down 8% and 10% respectively from 2021.

The phrase “You don’t know what you’ve lost until it’s gone” fits for those communities that have found their local voices are not heard as their newspapers are shuttered.

“The loss of local newspapers accelerated in 2023 to an average of 2.5 per week, leaving more than 200 counties as ‘news deserts’ meaning that more than half of all U.S. counties now have limited access to reliable local news and information,” according to a report by Medill School of Journalism, Media Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University.

The report also found that since 2005, the U.S. had lost about 2,900 newspapers.

More individuals are getting their news online, either on their smart phones or tablets. Some go to “news” outlets; however, they may not be legitimate news agencies and instead provide intentional falsehoods or are intentionally using misleading information. There are also online news outlets that mimic legitimate news sources.

But more than just receiving news that is slanted with untruths, there is also the loss of the local perspective. Most independent newspapers will report on some national news but the “bread and butter” of local news is the community.

Local newspapers are a place where readers can find out how many hours of community service local high schoolers have served, the new play equipment that is being constructed at a nearby park and the best Halloween decorated houses. It’s a place where neighbors are listened to before national politicians, and they often share more positive stories than negative.

CVW will be reaching out to other independent newspapers that have and continue to survive and talk about the importance of keeping alive the tradition of local news that has been at the foundation of the U.S. since its inception.

“No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now trying, and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that man may be governed by reason and truth. Our first object should therefore be, to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press.” – Thomas Jefferson