The Map Keeps Getting Emptier
“News desert” sounds abstract until you read the latest Medill numbers: 208 U.S. counties now have zero local news outlets, up from 204 a year earlier, while another 1,563 limp along with exactly one source. Together, those counties hold nearly 55 million people—more than Florida and Georgia combined. medill.northwestern.edu
Definition: News Desert in Plain Terms
Researcher Penelope Muse Abernathy defines a news desert as a community with “significantly diminished access” to important local information. In practice, the watchdog is gone and accountability follows it out the door. usnewsdeserts.com
One-Third of U.S. Newspapers Gone
Since 2005, more than a third of American newspapers have vanished—over 3,200 titles. Closures still average more than two papers every week. medill.northwestern.edu
North Carolina: Six Counties Silent, Many Whisper
North Carolina claims six counties with no newspaper and dozens more served by a single weekly. The state’s population growth masks an information drought outside metro cores. medill.northwestern.edu
Charlotte’s Shrinking Paper Trail
Mecklenburg County keeps The Charlotte Observer, but the Saturday print edition went digital-only in 2020, and as of July 2024 the paper prints just three days a week, mailed by the USPS. en.wikipedia.org
The cutbacks didn’t stop there. Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Kevin Siers was laid off in 2023, part of parent company McClatchy’s plan to drop daily opinion cartoons. wfae.orgaxios.com
Why It Matters
Empirical studies tie disappearing local coverage to higher municipal borrowing costs, lower voter turnout, and sharper partisan divides. When no one sits through the zoning meeting, officials spend more and explain less.
Where Mercury Local Fits
Mercury Local enters with two blunt promises:
- Cover Charlotte and its suburbs at street level using reporters, not wire copy.
- Fund the work with privacy-first ads and reader services—no paywalls, no third-party trackers.
We won’t fix 208 desert counties overnight, but we can make sure Ballantyne’s school board and Charlotte’s Historic District Commission stay on the public record.
About the Author
Fueled by a double cold-brew, Peter Cellino plies his trade at the intersection of caffeine and civic duty. Find him on Bluesky @pc51.bsky.social and roam the Mercury Local ecosystem: the Blog, live Case Studies, deep-dive Resources like our Local SEO Playbook, plus privacy-forward Advertising options for Charlotte Mercury and Strolling Ballantyne.
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This article, “What Is a News Desert? 55 Million Americans Live Without Local News,” by Peter Cellino is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.
“What Is a News Desert? 55 Million Americans Live Without Local News”
by Peter Cellino, Mercury Local (CC BY-ND 4.0)