Napoli, Philip M. (author), Weber, Matthew (author), McCollough, Katie (author), and Wang, Qun (author)
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
2018
Published:
USA: DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, Stanford School of Public Policy, Duke University.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 124 Document Number: D11221
Notes:
26 pages., Findings based on an analysis of more than 16,000 news stories gathered over seven days, across 100 randomly sampled U.S. communities with populations of 20,000 to 300,000. Among the findings: 20 communities contained no local news stories, only about 17% of the news stories provided to a community were truly local; less than half (43%) of the news stories to a community by local media outlets were produced by the local media outlet; and just over half (56% of the news stories provided to a community by local media outlets addressed what was defined as a "critical information need." Findings provided evidence of the "news deserts" problem confronting local communities.
Installing fiber-optic internet in sparsely populated places like western Kansas is extremely expensive, even with government subsidies. But some smaller, local broadband providers are finding ways to make it work where the big national companies have not.
19 pages., Online via UI e-subscription., Authors examined impacts of efforts by Report for America (RFA) to strengthen the capacity of local news and increase trust from the perspective of two communities: a neighborhood on Chicago's West Side and a rural county in eastern Kentucky. Findings illustrated "the influence of place and power dynamics on how residents navigate trustworthiness factors." They also revealed lack of feedback loops to provide coverage for communities.
5 pages., Via online UI subscription., Report of sessions at a conference about the need and role of community newspapers in sustaining and revitalizing U.S. rural life. Conference organized by the Keene (New Hampshire) Sentinel newspaper and Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship.
