EOTO#2 Reaction

EOTO#2 Reaction: News Deserts in the United States

I was quite shocked to learn how widespread this problem has grown after listening to my classmate's presentation on news deserts in the US. I hadn't really thought about it before, but now I realize how important it is. Losing access to reliable local news doesn’t just mean missing out on what’s happening in your town; it’s about losing a vital connection to the community and a sense of accountability for local governments and organizations. Honestly, I hadn’t realized how much we depend on local news to keep things running smoothly in our communities.

The fact that more than 2,100 newspapers have closed since 2004 was one of the more startling things my classmate mentioned. How can people keep up with the things that are important to them on a daily basis without these sources? The amount of people who have been left without a local information source in entire cities and neighborhoods is crazy. It made me think about how important local news is for the tiny things we take for granted. For example, like keeping up with community activities, attending school board meetings, or even understanding new laws and policies that could have a direct impact on our lives.

The fact that this issue primarily affects rural towns truly caught my attention. The local newspaper is usually the only reliable source of news in small towns; when it disappears, residents are left to rely on national media, which simply ignores local problems. I considered how annoying it may be to feel cut off from your own community since no one is covering it anymore. My classmate brought up a great point regarding how this lack of local coverage results in lower civic involvement and voting. It makes sense: how can you make wise decisions if you don't know what's happening with your local leaders or community council? The entire community is weakened by this domino effect.

Digital media's role in all of this was another aspect of the presentation that truly resonated with me. Due to the dominance of platforms like Facebook and Google in the advertising market, small newspapers are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. The big firms have all the resources, and the smaller companies just cannot compete with them. According to my classmate, news quality and focus are changing even in urban areas where people have access to a wider variety of media. It's much worse in rural areas, where there are frequently no reliable news sources available.

I was really shocked by how important local news is after listening to these presentations. Since I grew up in a time where social media and the internet provided the majority of my news, I never gave local newspapers much thought. I now see that they serve as a means of creating and maintaining a cohesive community in addition to being a way of staying informed. Losing that would mean losing a piece of what contributes to the meaning of communities.

We all need to be more conscious of this issue, which is why I'm glad my classmate talked about it. It made me think about ways we can help local journalism, including buying local newspapers, giving money, or even supporting laws that keep smaller media companies around. I came away from the lecture feeling that we must find a way to reverse this trend before more towns become news deserts. It serves as a reminder to all of us to cherish and safeguard the resources that provide us with information and connections.