On June 29th, 2022, the Local News Initiative at The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications of Northwestern University released their latest study, “The State of Local News 2022, Expanding News Deserts, Growing Gaps, Emerging Models.”  The primary author of the report is Penelope Muse Abernathy, who is nationally known for her “news deserts” research and acts as visiting professor at Northwestern and has served as Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina. Abernathy has also held executive positions with The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

The study confirms that U.S. newspapers rapidly continue to close at an average rate of more than two a week, with the country losing more than one-fourth since 2005 as of publication date leaving only 6,377 surviving papers with 1,230 reported as dailies and 5,147 as weeklies. 

Moreover, the study states that this loss of local journalism has been accompanied by the “malignant spread of misinformation and disinformation, political polarization, eroding trust in media, and a yawning digital and economic divide among citizens.”  And when a local news source dies, so does voter participation while corruption in both government and business rise along with taxes.

In this 145th episode of E&P Reports, we have an insightful dialogue with Penelope (Penny) Muse Abernathy, visiting professor at Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism and Tim Franklin, Senior Associate Dean, Professor and John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, about the Local News Initiative’s latest study on the “State of Local News 2022." It reveals that U.S. newspapers continue to close down rapidly, creating "news deserts" that become fertile ground for the growth of misinformation, government corruption and lack of voter participation.