Knowra News desert News desert A community with little or no reliable local news coverage. It may lack local news outlets or have outlets too limited to report consistently on civic life.
Local journalism : Reporting focused on the events, institutions, and concerns of a particular community. Its decline or absence is what makes a community a news desert.
Civic engagement : Participation in public life, including voting, organizing, and community decision-making. Less local reporting can leave people with fewer shared facts for civic participation.
News oasis : A community with unusually abundant local news coverage relative to surrounding areas. It describes the opposite local-coverage condition.
Medill State of Local News : An annual research project tracking local news outlets and coverage in the United States. Its reporting documents outlet losses and identifies communities with limited local news.
Newspaper closure : The shutdown of a newspaper, ending or reducing its regular publication. Closures can remove a community’s established source of local reporting.
Government accountability : The obligation of public officials and institutions to explain and answer for their actions. Local journalists often scrutinize decisions that otherwise receive little public attention.
Hyperlocal journalism : Reporting focused on a small geographic area or narrowly defined community. It can cover places overlooked by larger local news organizations.
Federal Communications Commission : The United States government agency that regulates interstate communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable. Its media research and regulatory context inform debates about local news access.
Newsroom downsizing : A reduction in the staff or resources of a news organization. A surviving outlet can still leave a community underserved after cutting reporters.
Political polarization : The widening separation of political groups in beliefs, identities, or policy positions. Reduced local news can weaken shared community information and leave national partisan sources more prominent.
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