ABOUT NEWS DESERTS

A news desert is a community with a lack of local news. These news deserts are prevalent in low-income communities—both in rural and urban areas—and communities of color. News feeds democracy at the grassroots level. New deserts decrease local governmental accountability to their citizenry and lead to underrepresentation. These communities are either not portrayed at all in the media or presented in a negative manner such as crime-ridden. All global issues—whether sexism, racism, poverty, or more—begin on a local level. When no one is there to share these stories, they often go untold and thus unaddressed.