Listening to the other groups present their topics, one of the subjects that really caught my attention was the idea of "News Deserts". I found it to be incredibly interesting because I had never considered before the possibility that some Americans might not have access to local or regional news. It was mind-blowing to me that some Americans may only be consuming national news, that there could be no way to find out about what's going on in your hometown or surrounding area.
With information at the tip of our fingertips, it's not hard to simply use the internet to find out about what's going on around us. It's also not hard to find information around us that may not exactly be true. Without access to verified reporting, others may turn to less reputable or verifiable sources and begin to believe things that simply are not true. Without access to real news, there's a very real possibility of others spiraling down rabbit holes because they don't have access to quality reporting. That possibility becomes greater when looking at the fact that new deserts are growing. Increasingly across the country newspapers are having to shut down, leaving communities across the country with little to no access to verified reporting.
While this affects millions of Americans throughout the country, it greatly affects lower-income Americans. For example, the average median annual income of a home in a news desert is $15,000 less than the average U.S. household. Only 20% of adults living in news deserts have bachelor's degrees compared to 38% in the U.S. It also appears that a lack of consistent, trustworthy news has some correlation to a lack in education and income. Knowing this, we as a society should be doing everything we can to protect honest journalism and help bring back news to everywhere in America.
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