In this special supplemental episode of On Assignment, guest host Marianne Keller explores a growing crisis that’s quietly reshaping life in America: the expansion of news deserts — communities with little to no access to reliable local news.

More than 3,200 newspapers have vanished since 2005. Jobs have disappeared. Local stories go untold. Government oversight weakens. And millions of people — particularly in rural, low-income, and minority communities — are left in an information void.

We break down:

• What news deserts are and where they're spreading
• How a lack of local journalism harms democracy, accountability, and civic life
• The disproportionate impact on underserved communities
• Promising solutions: nonprofit newsrooms, philanthropic support, new ownership models, and policy innovations

With insights from research at Northwestern, Columbia Journalism Review, Nieman Lab, UNC, and more, this episode dives deep into the consequences of vanishing local news — and what can be done to fix it.